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Tom Brady on the Ravens’ toughness, how Lamar Jackson can get even better
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Tom Brady on the Ravens’ toughness, how Lamar Jackson can get even better

Tom Brady knows a thing or two about epic comebacks. But the FOX Sports lead NFL analyst also knows a thing or two about how tough it is to beat the Baltimore Ravens.

The resilience of John Harbaugh’s Ravens, which Brady knows so well, was on display again Sunday in Dallas. Baltimore entered the game 0-2 after one-possession losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders, then nearly blew a 22-point fourth-quarter lead to the Cowboys amid a furious comeback led by Dak Prescott.

Tom Brady Breaks Down Lamar Jackson, Ravens’ Win Over Cowboys

Tom Brady Breaks Down Lamar Jackson, Ravens' Win Over Cowboys

But Lamar Jackson used a key third-down pass and fake jet sweep run to record game-sealing first downs and seal a 28-25 Ravens victory. He also recorded an individual performance in which the reigning NFL MVP threw for 182 yards and a touchdown and ran for 87 yards and another score.

“It’s a lot of weight off their shoulders,” Brady said. “The expectations they had for this year, based on the way they finished last year and were 0-2, that whole week last week sucked for them.

“They came out here, started fast, weathered the Cowboys’ storm. I like the Cowboys’ fighting spirit, I like the Ravens’ toughness. … This game for me was all about Baltimore’s toughness. They’re a tough organization. They’ve got a tough head coach. They’ve got battle-scarred guys. You’ve got to go four quarters to beat a team like that.”

Brady said the diversity of the Ravens’ offense, and particularly the duo of Jackson and running back Derrick Henry — who won Brady’s Week 3 LFG Player of the Game after a 151-yard, two-touchdown rushing performance — made it particularly difficult for the Cowboys’ defense.

Tom Brady on the Ravens’ 28-25 win over the Cowboys – ‘a lot of weight off their shoulders’

Tom Brady on the Ravens' 28-25 win over the Cowboys – 'a lot of weight off their shoulders'

“(The Cowboys) struggle on the inside, they try to slow down these run games,” Brady said. “This is a team that has a good pass rush. … You might have a great pass rush, but you can’t make a difference in the game because you can’t even get it to third down. Today, late, they actually got (the Ravens) to a couple third downs, got them off the field. But early in the game, when Lamar goes to the right, Lamar goes to the left, Derrick goes to the right, Derrick goes to the left, and then they had the (bootlegs) that come from those things, you’re just such a moving target, and as a defender, you’re bound to be so hesitant. You don’t know how to rush, you don’t know how to drop. You’re going from one side to the other, and you can’t be aggressive.”

As for whether the Ravens can continue to right the ship as the season progresses, Brady seemed optimistic about the idea for their quarterback’s sake. It’s well-documented that Jackson is a huge Brady fan, with the two-time NFL MVP often publicly referring to the seven-time Super Bowl champion as “the GOAT.” But Brady made it clear during Sunday’s broadcast that the feeling is mutual, showering Jackson with praise and admiring how the 27-year-old superstar continues to grow as an NFL quarterback.

“His (downfield) vision is just spectacular,” Brady said during the game. “For a player who does so many things in the pocket and then comes out of the socket, his field vision is unbelievable. His decision-making out of the pocket is unbelievable. … The evolution of a quarterback is you go from playing early on with what your skill set is to ‘How do I continue to develop as a player?’

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“What I saw last year with (Ravens offensive coordinator Todd) Monken, he came in and said, ‘OK, we’re going to make a more concentrated effort to play out of the pocket.’ Now they’re talking about, OK, how do we give him more responsibility? Some of the things that have challenged the Ravens defense in critical situations is when the defense is applying a lot of pressure. Kansas City did that last year in the AFC Championship game. They did it early in the season. (The Ravens) said, ‘OK, Lamar, when you see this max blitz — and you’re the MVP of the league and you’re phenomenal — but these are areas where we think you need to improve a little bit. Now you’re going to have more control at the line of scrimmage to make some protection checks and then hurt the blitz, and that’s really where I see his evolution as a player going to the next level.”

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