Lamar Jackson Week 13 grades: This isn’t the Ravens star that we know

Fair is fair. If we rush to defend Lamar Jackson when criticism goes too far, we also have to acknowledge when he delivers an inexcusable performance for a superstar quarterback. The Baltimore Ravens flatlined in primetime against the Cincinnati Bengals, an effort so lifeless you’d swear Cincinnati was the one fighting for the division crown.

Lamar Jackson hasn't been his best for a while, and we know he is capable of better. Is he still dealing with an injury? Are the Ravens simply losing to better teams? Is this simply what they are?

We must pat Jackson on the back when he shows the traits of an elite talent. We must also kick him in the hind parts when he doesn't play well enough.

This time we saw the latter. The Ravens lost to the Bengals, 32-14. He missed on 15 of his 32 pass attempts. He threw an interception and was sacked three times. He also fumbled twice. It's hard to remember a recent performance as bad as the one we saw in this one.

Lamar Jackson's worth throw

Following a brilliant goal-line stand by Zach Orr's defense, Baltimore's offense couldn't capitalize on some early momentum. They responded with a three-and-out possession on their ensuing drive.

Jackson made some bad throws in this one, but during the drive being mentioned, he missed a wide-open Zay Flowers badly on what should have been an easy throw and catch to move the chains.

You will rarely see someone so wide open during a third-down scenario. You will rarely see a miss as bad as this. It was too high. It was too far outside. Jackson didn't give Flowers any opportunity to catch the football.

Lamar Jackson's best throw

A 43-yard catch and run off Lamar Jackson's arm by Isaiah Likely ended with a fumble at the goal line and a touchback. The Bengals drove into field-goal range and took a 9-7 lead on their ensuing drive.

Baltimore responded, but needed a big play before the two-minute warning. Jackson bought some time with his legs and found Likely for a huge gainer before the two-minute warning.

Jackson threw a beautiful rainbow to the end zone intended for Zay Flowers on the next play, but offensive pass interference nullified the score.

That would have been QB1's best pass of the night had it counted. A ten-yard pass to DeAndre Hopkins followed. That one doubled as his 1,000th reception.

An incompletion, sack, and punt on 4th and 19 followed. A nice-looking drive stalled, but think about something. How bad a game are we discussing if Lamar Jackson's best throw of the night wound up being one that was wiped away because of a penalty?

The Ravens' star was brilliant with a four-TD passing performance vs. the Miami Dolphins in his Week 9 return from injury, but he hasn't thrown a TD pass in any of his past three games. Something is broken, and Thanksgiving's performance was one of the worst we have ever seen by a Lamar Jackson-led Ravens offense and one of the worst performances we have seen by this Ravens team as a whole.

Lamar Jackson's Week 11 report card

• Accuracy and ball location: D

• Vision and Dissection: D

• Intangibles and off-script plays: C

• Decision-making: C

• Leadership: A-

• Overall grade: C-

This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Lamar Jackson Week 13 grades: This isn’t the Ravens star that we know