Colin Cowherd skewers Lamar Jackson, Ravens after shocking AFCCG defeat to Chiefs - "They are not built for this"

Lamar Jackson continues to feel the painful aftermath of his Baltimore Ravens' downfall in Sunday's AFC Championship Game.

The ousted top seeds' offensive struggles are a well-known talking point. Their rushing game almost completely vanished, and the passing game, outside of Zay Flowers, failed to be prolific when needed.

The presumptive 2023 MVP got a scathing take from Colin Cowherd, who said on FS1's The Herd that the Ravens' de-emphasis of the run against the Kansas City Chiefs went against their ethos:

"That felt like coaching malpractice. They completely abandon their total identity. ... Their running backs had six total carries. I didn't even recognize Baltimore yesterday. ... One of the strangest three and a half hours of playoff football I have ever seen."

He also had a shocking notion to conclude his assessment of Jackson's future prospects:

"It pains me to say it; but from from coaching to second-half mistakes, is it possible Baltimore's just not built for this? They're not built to beat the coaching and the quarterbacking and the institutional knowledge of the Chiefs."

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Stephen A. Smith calls Lamar Jackson's AFCCG underperformance "a choke job"

It was not just Colin Cowherd who lambasted Lamar Jackson and Co. for their defeat at the weekend.

On ESPN's First Take, Stephen A. Smith had some harsh words for Lamar Jackson. Pointing out acareer stat, he implied that the regular-season and postseason version of the quarterback could have not been more different:

“Lamar Jackson has a passer rating below 80 in five of the six playoff games he’s been in. ... There’s no other way around it. It hurts me to say it, but it’s a choke job.

"(Choking)’s when you perform exceptionally until the moment arrives, and then you perform badly. ... it’s what we saw yesterday.”

His co-host Shannon Sharpe was more optimistic, if still cautious, adding that the longer Jackson went without major success, the louder his criticism would grow:

“I believe there’s still a chance that Lamar can get to and win a Super Bowl because he has that kind of ability. But in big moments, Lamar Jackson has yet to show up when the team absolutely needs him to ... when it matters most."

The 2019 MVP completed 20 of 37 passes for 272 yards and a touchdown against an interception but also had just 54 yards on eight carries.