Lamar Jackson left Monday night’s game against the Browns shortly after cramping. Jackson, who rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game in the fourth quarter, was replaced by Trace McSorley with the Ravens leading six points. The Ravens quickly fell behind without Jackson, however, as Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield gave the Browns the lead on a five-yard run with 6:33 remaining.
After nearly two full holdings on the bench, Jackson got back into the game with two minutes to go after McSorley left the field with a knee injury. Facing a fourth-and-four on the Browns’ 44-yard line, Jackson ran to the right before hitting a wide open Marquise Brown for the go-ahead score. JK Dobbins, who scored a touchdown earlier in the half, converted after Baltimore’s subsequent two-point attempt to give Baltimore a 42-35 lead with 1:51 remaining.
“I didn’t pull Paul Pierce,” Jackson said, alluding to the former NBA star’s bizarre exit during the 2008 NBA Finals. “I had cramps.”
Jackson, who threw for 163 yards while running for 124 more, completed four passes for 38 yards on the last possession of the game. Jackson set up Justin Tucker’s 55-yard field goal with two seconds to go when the Ravens left Cleveland with an unlikely 47-42 victory.
“I had cramps,” Jackson said after the game against ESPN’s Lisa Salters. “I had to get some IVs in me for the cold, and we came back with the win. I tried to come back. I stretched out. I saw what was going on. They came back.”
Jackson, after receiving treatment during the Ravens’ first-quarter possession, was back on the sidelines after the Ravens got the ball back 6:29 left and one point behind. Jackson, who only got back into the game when McSorley was injured in the eighth play of the drive, said he would go back into the game regardless of the injury.
“I still got in anyway,” said Jackson, returning to the game with a wrap covering his upper arm. ‘For us it is winning or going home. We have to win. ‘
With the win, the 8-5 Ravens remain firmly anchored in the AFC playoff photo. They are currently in a two-way battle with the 8-5 Dolphins for the AFC’s seventh and final playoff spot.