Should The Ravens Have Put Flacco In Sunday's Game

 RadioOnFire.com - Lamar Jackson's passer rating was bottoming out at 0.0, he'd endured a first half with a combined total of fumbles and interceptions (three) that was higher than his number of completions (two), and his playoff debut was shaping up as, in a word, a disaster.

So as Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh stuck with his rookie quarterback, and the team's deficit in an AFC wild-card game against the Los Angeles Chargers grew and grew Sunday, fans near the home team's sideline called for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco to get a chance.

That drew the ire of Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith, who let the spectators know he thought they were making a mistake during what would become Baltimore's 23-17 loss to LA.

"I'm standing there, and they were just like chanting Flacco's name. I love 'Flac,' but (Jackson) got us here. So for the fact that you're a fair-weather fan that quickly when things go rough — you turn your back on him? — that just got under my skin a little bit," Smith said. "So I just went to them and told them, like, 'Yo, you either ride or die or you get ... out of here.'"

A day before his 22nd birthday, Jackson became the youngest quarterback to start a postseason game, and aside from getting in gear late, he sure looked like someone not quite ready for the big stage. The Heisman Trophy winner from Louisville went 14 for 29 for 194 yards, two fourth-quarter TDs to make the score respectable, one pick, one lost fumble and two more fumbles recovered by Baltimore. He was sacked seven times.

Asked about the fans' jeering, Jackson said: "No hard feelings. They're looking for better."

Harbaugh said he considered making a switch to Flacco — "It was part of the conversation. Certainly thought about it. Certainly talked about it," the coach explained — but thought the fact that Jackson produced a pair of scores late proved that keeping him in the game was the right call.

"Lamar's our quarterback going forward. There's no question about that," Harbaugh said, adding that he expects to return next season, too.

Source WBAL