Lamar Jackson admitted that the Baltimore Ravens underestimated the Tennessee Titans ahead of their shocking divisional-round loss last season.
The reigning NFL MVP said Tuesday on Complex’s “Load Management” podcast that he wants to focus on “not peeking ahead” this season, as that mentality got the Ravens in trouble against the Titans.
“That’s what happened in the playoffs, and we end up losing to the team people had us favored over,” Jackson said. “It’s any given Sunday. You can’t underestimate no team, no opponent and that’s what we did.
“So I’m looking forward to this 2020 season playing the Browns first. … Don’t underestimate your opponents. They caught us by surprise. That’s all it was.”
Jackson in particular struggled in that game, finishing with his second-worst passer rating of the season. The star quarterback shouldered much of the blame after the game, telling reporters that “we just beat ourselves.”
“I had a lot of mistakes on my behalf,” said Jackson, who threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in top-seeded Baltimore’s 28-12 loss. “Three turnovers — that shouldn’t happen. But [Tennessee] came out to play.”
