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Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas — Before the Baltimore Ravens left the locker room at halftime, quarterback Lamar Jackson spoke to the team and emphasized finishing the game. Then, when the game was on the line, Jackson took it upon himself to close out the Ravens’ first victory of the season.
On the final drive, Jackson threw a clutch third-down pass and then ran for a first down as Baltimore held off the Dallas Cowboys 28-25 on Sunday. The Ravens (1-2) avoided the second 0-3 start in team history.
“I thought Lamar [Jackson] was just phenomenal throughout the game and then took over the last drive,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said.
The Ravens watched a 22-point fourth-quarter lead dwindle to three points with less than three minutes left in the game. Jackson ended what would have been the biggest comeback in Cowboys history.
The reigning NFL Most Valuable Player completed a 9-yard pass to Zay Flowers on third-and-6 and decided to keep the ball on a run option. After faking a handoff to Flowers on a jet sweep, Jackson ran upfield for 10 yards, which allowed Baltimore to run out the rest of the clock.
“In crunch time, you want it in his hands,” Ravens Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum said.
Jackson finished 12-of-15 passing for 182 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 87 yards and another touchdown.
“We’ve got to win these games to get to the playoffs, and win these playoff games to get to the Super Bowl,” Jackson said. “But it starts with the game that’s in front of us.”
Finishing has been an issue for Baltimore. Last week, the Ravens failed to hold a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter of a 27-20 upset loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. On Sunday, Baltimore took a 28-6 lead into the fourth quarter before sweating out the win.
Jackson improved to 21-1 as a starting quarterback against NFC teams. His .955 win percentage in interconference games is the best by a quarterback since the start of 1970, when the NFC and AFC were created, according to ESPN Research.
Teammates have noticed Jackson becoming a more outspoken leader.
“He has been very vocal this year,” Ravens fullback Patrick Ricard said. “He’s the No. 1 guy that wants to win the most for us, and we want to win for him. When he’s getting on guys, I think it puts even more fire behind them, like, ‘I really have to make sure that I’m focused on the play.'”
When Jackson spoke to his teammates at halftime, he reinforced that their fate is in their hands.
“He wants us to want it just as much as him,” Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley said.