LOS ANGELES — Lamar Jackson was unstoppable in one of the greatest performances ever in Monday Night Football history, showing the football world once again why he’s perhaps the best player in the game.
In a 45-6 rout of the Los Angeles Rams, Jackson ripped long runs and threaded passes in the red zone to lead the Baltimore Ravens to touchdowns on all six of his drives while continuing to rewrite the NFL record book.
With the backdrop of the Hollywood sign and the bright lights of prime time, here are some new feats he established Monday:
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First player with five touchdown passes in a Monday Night Football debut, according to the Elias Sports Bureau research.
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Youngest player (22 years old) with multiple games of five touchdown passes in NFL history.
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First player in NFL history with four touchdown passes and at least 50 yards rushing in consecutive games.
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First player with at least 3,000 passing yards and 1,500 rushing yards over his first two seasons in NFL history.
In what has become a tradition, Jackson walked off the field hearing the chants of “MVP.”
“I’m not worried about MVP,” Jackson said. “If it comes, it comes, I’ll be satisfied; but I’m trying to win a Super Bowl. That’s a team award; that’s what I want.”
Jackson finished 15-of-20 for 169 yards with touchdown passes to Marquise “Hollywood” Brown (6 and 18 yards), Willie Snead IV (two 7-yarders) and Mark Ingram (7 yards). He also ran for 95 yards on eight carries.
He did all of this despite not playing the final 14 minutes, 43 seconds of the game.
Asked if everyone is witnessing history with Jackson, Ravens linebacker Matthew Judon said: “I don’t know what we’re seeing but we’re going to continue to watch it.”
Before Jackson exited, the Ravens became the first team since the 2008 Saints to score a touchdown on their first six drives of the game. Going back to last week, Jackson has directed Baltimore to score points on 12 consecutive drives (excluding a one-play, end-of-half kneel down).
“That’s just operating at the highest level you can operate at as a quarterback,” coach John Harbaugh said.
Jackson became the odds-on favorite for NFL Most Valuable Player last week. But it’s more than just an MVP race now.
It’s a competition for most touchdown passes in the league. Jackson is tied with Seattle’s Russell Wilson for the NFL lead with 24 touchdown passes.
“He’s a hell of a player, and I wish him the best,” Rams quarterback Jared Goff said. “I think he’s really proving a lot of people wrong, and you always love to see that.”
Jackson is the third quarterback in the Super Bowl era to win seven straight starts before turning 23. He joined Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Bledsoe.
“There’s a reason why people are talking about him as an MVP,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “It felt like it tonight.”
Baltimore (9-2) leads the AFC North by three games over the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5) and moves back to within one game of the New England Patriots (10-1) for the top seed in the AFC.
This sets up a marquee matchup Sunday, when the Ravens face the San Francisco 49ers (10-1) at M&T Bank Stadium.
“There is something special here, but you know what? There’s nobody crowned in November,” Harbaugh said. “So we have a lot of work to do.”