The 2023 season was supposed to be different for Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. Instead, the presumptive league MVP and his teammates search for answers after yet another playoff exit.
After the loss, Jackson was asked if he was frustrated by another postseason disappointment.
"Oh, I'm not frustrated at all," he said. "I'm angry about losing, we were a game away from the Super Bowl, we've been waiting all this time, all these moments for an opportunity like this and we fell short. But I feel like our team will, we're going to build, this offseason we're going to get right, get better, grind, and try and be in this position again, but on the other side, a victory."
Patrick Mahomes gashed the Ravens defense early, giving up two long touchdown drives to start the game, but Baltimore shut out K.C. in the second half, allowing just six first downs on six possessions.
It was Jackson and the offense who couldn't capitalize. Turnovers sideswiped any chance of pulling off the comeback. Trailing 17-7, rookie receiver Zay Flowers had a potential touchdown punched out at the goal line. After Baltimore's D got a stop, Jackson tossed a bad force into heavy traffic in the end zone that was picked off with just under seven minutes remaining, effectively ending any legitimate chance at a comeback.
The Ravens fell to 0-5 in Jackson's career with a halftime deficit of 10-plus points (three of the five coming against Kansas City). Baltimore is now 0-24 when trailing by 10-plus points at halftime since 2013, including playoffs, and is the only team in the NFL without a win in such games over that span, per NFL Research.
"We're mad," Jackson said. "Offense, we didn't put nothing on the board. We scored once. That's not like us. We drove the ball down the field. That's cool. But we got to put points on the board. But I feel like my team just angry, not frustrated, we just angry. We know how hard we worked to get here."
The Ravens changed offensive coordinators last offseason, which helped jumpstart Jackson's passing attack. Ultimately, the results remained the same, with the offense falling short in January. They head into another offseason with more questions about how they can get over the postseason hump.
