If there’s one day of the week where Lamar Jackson always seems to be at his best, it’s when he plays on a Monday. The Baltimore Ravens quarterback has been playing at a high level for years, but he somehow kicks his play into an even higher gear whenever his team is playing on Monday night.
Jackson hasn’t just been good in Monday games, he’s been historically good: In nine career games, Jackson has thrown 22 touchdown passes compared to ZERO interceptions. According to CBS Sports research, that’s the most touchdown passes without an interception by any player on ANY day of the week in NFL history. Jackson has thrown a total of 239 passes in his Monday career.
Jackson’s first Monday game came back in November 2019, and he got things started with a bang by throwing five touchdown passes in a 45-6 blowout win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Here’s a look at how Jackson has played in each Monday night game:
Nov. 25, 2019
5 TD-0 INT
Ravens 45-6 over Rams (away)
Sept. 28, 2020
1 TD-0 INT
Chiefs 34-20 over Ravens
Dec. 14, 2020
1 TD-0 INT
Ravens 47-42 over Browns (away)
Sept. 13, 2021
1 TD-0 INT
Raiders 33-27 over Ravens in OT (away)
Oct. 11, 2021
4 TD-0 INT
Ravens 31-25 over Colts
Nov. 7, 2022
1 TD-0 INT
Ravens 27-13 over Saints (away)
Dec. 25, 2023
2 TD-0 INT
Ravens 33-19 over 49ers (away)
Oct. 21, 2024
5 TD-0 INT
Ravens 41-31 over Buccaneers (away)
Nov. 25, 2024
2 TD-0 INT
Ravens 30-23 over Chargers (away)
Why is Jackson so good on Mondays? He actually got asked about it in the lead-up to his Week 3 game against the Detroit Lions.
“I’ll say that probably the extra rest day, extra film, get a good feel for who we’re playing against and go from there,” Jackson said, via ESPN.
It’s a solid theory.
Jackson actually didn’t watch very many Monday night games growing up because he wasn’t allowed to.
“My mom used to make me go to sleep,” Jackson said. “I had school.”
Although he didn’t watch the games as a kid, Jackson has turned into Mr. Monday night. With Jackson under center, the Ravens are 7-2 in Monday games, and they’ve won five straight with an average of 32.4 points per game in those wins.
In Baltimore’s win over the Colts back in 2021, Jackson threw for 442 yards, which still stands as his career high. The second-highest passing total of his career (357 yards) didn’t come on a Monday, but it did come against the Lions — the same Lions team he’ll be facing off against on Monday night.
Not only has Jackson been dominant on Mondays, but he’s been just as dominant against NFC teams. Over the course of his career, Jackson has gone 24-2 against the opposite conference, and if you combine that with his history of balling out on Mondays, the Lions could be in trouble.
The Ravens and Lions will be kicking off from Baltimore at 8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN.
