NBA great Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among the people killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California on Sunday and the news cast a shadow over the NFL's annual all-star clash taking place on the other side of the United States.
Camping World Stadium observed a moment of silence, fans chanted Bryant's name and the NFC defence mimicked the Los Angeles Lakers legend's signature fadeaway jump shot after completing a sack.
Making his first Pro Bowl appearance, star Baltimore Ravens quarterback Jackson threw 185 yards for two touchdowns and one interception to help the AFC to a 10-point half-time lead.
Drew Brees, rumoured to be considering retirement, started at QB for the NFC, who mounted a third-quarter comeback after defensive tackle Fletcher Cox sauntered untroubled into the end zone for a 61-yard touchdown following Harrison Smith's lateral pass.
Davante Adams caught Kirk Cousins' pass to reduce the margin back to three points, before Ryan Tannehill connected with D.J. Chark Jr. on a 60-yard throw to restore the AFC's buffer.
T.J. Watt and Green Bay Packers wide receiver Adams traded scores in the fourth quarter as MVP candidate Jackson paid tribute to Bryant, telling ESPN: "That's a legend. He did so much for the game of basketball. A lot of people looked up to Kobe Bryant, including myself."
The NFL's attention now turns to Miami, where the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers will contest the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Allen was voted as an alternate in the AFC roster, having initially missed out to Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was absent for the latter stages of the season with an ankle injury.
Jackson's ankle injury will force him out of the Pro Bowl game, while Allen has opted to let his body "rest and recover" after a hectic season.
Allen's season had prematurely ended last weekend at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs 42-36 in overtime in a Divisional playoffs classic.
"Unfortunately, I will be declining the invitation to play in the Pro Bowl this year - in order to allow my body to rest and recover from the harshness of the season," Allen told ESPN.
"The type of quarterback [that] I am, I obtain a lot of bumps and bruises along the road of a season, so I will use this time to let my body heal."
The AFC roster may be short on quarterbacks with Los Angeles Chargers' Justin Herbert as started and Patrick Mahomes the only back-up.
Mahomes will be aiming to clinch a spot in the Super Bowl with the Chiefs this weekend, meaning he may become unavailable for the Pro Bowl, scheduled for February 6 in Las Vegas, too.
Dual threat Bills QB Allen had a career-high 4,407 passing yards for 36 passing touchdowns, along with a career-best 763 rushing yards with six touchdowns.
Jackson only managed 12 games due to injury prematurely ending his season, with a 64.4 percent completion rate for 2,882 yards and 16 touchdowns.
The older Brown, 32, was released by the New England Patriots in September last year amid sexual assault allegations he has denied.
He has now been banned for eight games due to "multiple violations of the NFL's personal conduct policy".
The wide receiver has been linked with a host of teams ahead of the new season, though, and worked out with both his cousin and Ravens team-mate Lamar Jackson in the offseason.
Star quarterback Jackson has spoken of his hope of bringing Brown to Baltimore in a move that the team's second-year receiver - a first-round pick in 2019 - would also welcome.
"AB, he's a guy that's going to bring the best out of you," Hollywood Brown told reporters.
"I feel like he would fit in this locker room. He's a guy that's competitive and he's going to go out there and give 100 per cent.
"Seeing stuff like that is going to make other guys want to do the same."
Former Pittsburgh Steelers star Brown, who had a controversial stint at the Oakland Raiders last year without playing, is a seven-time Pro Bowler.
His 23-year-old relative scored seven receiving touchdowns for the Ravens in a rookie 2019 season, although Baltimore were again beaten in the playoffs.
The Ravens gave Jackson the non-exclusive franchise tag on Tuesday, meaning he is free to negotiate with other teams.
If he signs an offer sheet with another NFL team, the Ravens have the option of matching it to keep Jackson or decline it and receive the other team's 2023 and 2024 first-round draft picks as compensation.
Had the Ravens placed the exclusive franchise tag on Jackson, he would have been locked up for the 2023 season by Baltimore and received a guaranteed salary of $45million.
The 26-year-old, who represents himself without an agent and just completed the final year of his rookie contract, also has the option of signing a one-year franchise tender to play for the Ravens in 2023 for a guaranteed salary of $32.4m.
The decision for the Ravens to place the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson and not work out a long-term deal differs greatly from what the team was indicating less than two months ago.
Just days after the Ravens' 2022 season ended with a 24-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card round, both general manager Eric DeCosta and coach John Harbaugh told reporters that they were determined to keep Jackson.
"Lamar Jackson is our quarterback," Harbaugh said on January 19. "He's been our quarterback. Everything we've done in terms of building our offense and our team, putting people around him, is based around this young man, his talent, his ability and his competitiveness.
"I'll have my fingers crossed and my toes crossed, I'll be saying prayers, I've every faith it's going to get done. Eric wants him here, I want him here, [owner] Steve [Bisciotti] wants him here and Lamar wants to be here. It's going to work out."
When asked if Jackson would be Baltimore's Week 1 starting QB next season, DeCosta added: "I don’t see any reason why he won't be."
Now that the Ravens have given him the opportunity to hit the open market, there is a distinct possibility he has played his final game for Baltimore.
The 32nd overall pick of the 2018 draft, Jackson ranks second in Ravens' franchise history in passing yards (12,209) and passing touchdowns (101) and was the league MVP in 2019.
His last two seasons, however, have been mired by injuries, as he missed five games in 2021 and the final five of 2022 due to a knee injury.
Jackson and the Ravens claimed their fifth straight win with a dominant 34-6 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers at M&T Bank Stadium.
It was a victory earned more on the legs of Baltimore's running backs and the solidity of the Ravens' defense than Jackson's dual-threat skill set.
But it saw the 2019 MVP break Dan Marino's record for the most wins by a quarterback before the age of 25, claiming his 35th.
Speaking about the record after the game, Jackson said: "It's pretty cool. I don't know what to say after that. It's cool."
Asked if such records matter to him, he replied: "We're on the road to something else. If it happens, it happens. But we want something else.
"It's a lot of season left. We just want to keep winning. A game at a time. That's all."
Head coach John Harbaugh, however, did attach some meaning to a record focused entirely on the numbers in the win column.
"That's the biggest one [winning]," Harbaugh said. "Have people heard of that one? I know they said they haven't heard about all these records – they have heard of about that one.
"I promise you that's what Lamar's most proud of, and that's the one we're the most proud of, absolutely."
The Chargers dropped to 4-2 having been held to just 208 net yards of offense.
Los Angeles had managed at least 350 in each of their previous five outings, with quarterback Justin Herbert conceding Baltimore's defense confused the Chargers with different looks.
"Yeah, it was a lot of looks that we didn't see on film and stuff they constructed for us," Herbert said.
"They did a great job at disguising their looks; bringing pressure from one way and hiding from another.
"It was looks they hadn't shown all season and stuff that you know we have to be better at to adjust to during the game. But, you know, they played a great game."
Derek Carr's 31-yard touchdown pass to Zay Jones in overtime gave the Raiders a stunning season-opening 33-27 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Monday.
It was a thrilling conclusion to the opening weekend of the NFL season after Lamar Jackson and the Ravens appeared in control for most of the game.
Injury-wracked Baltimore took a 14-0 lead on a 35-yard touchdown run from Ty'Son Williams and a signature 10-yard Jackson TD pass to Marquise Brown.
Las Vegas ultimately would level the game at 17-17 on Josh Jacobs' second touchdown run of the game with 9:18 to play in the fourth quarter, a drive set up by Jackson fumbling after a scramble for the first turnover of the night.
That set up a wild finish in the first regular-season game at $1.9billion Allegiant Stadium, as newly signed Ravens running back Latavius Murray gave the visitors a 24-17 lead with 6:04 to play before Carr equalised just over two minutes later with a 10-yard scoring pass to Darren Waller.
Jackson got loose again on the ensuing possession to set up a 47-yard Justin Tucker field goal that gave the Ravens a lead with 37 seconds remaining, but the Raiders were not done.
Carr zipped a pair of completions to get Las Vegas down the field and set Daneil Carlson up for a 55-yard field goal with two seconds remaining that sent the game to overtime.
The Raiders thought they had the game won on the opening possession of the extra session, as Carr hit Bryan Edwards for an apparent 33-yard touchdown.
But video replay determined Edwards was down just before the goal line, and after a run for no gain by Carr, a critical false start penalty an an incompletion, Anthony Averett ntercepted Carr in the end zone after a deflection on a pass intended for Willie Snead.
The Las Vegas defence would bail out the home side once again, though, as Carl Nassib forced a fumble on a sack of Jackson with 4:31 to play in overtime.
After a Raiders penalty moved the ball back five yards, the Ravens assumed the next play would be a run to set up a winning field-goal try, but Carr saw Jones get free in the secondary and looped a pass over everyone's head for an uncontested touchdown to win the game.
Carr completed 34 of 56 passes for 435 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, while Jackson was 19 of 30 for 235 yards and a TD. The Ravens quarterback also rushed for a game-high 86 yards.
It will be a battle of two former MVPs and two of the hottest teams in the league when Jackson's Ravens host Mahomes and the Chiefs in Baltimore.
The Ravens and Super Bowl champions the Chiefs are both 2-0 heading into Week 3 amid plenty of hype as reigning MVP Jackson and 2018 Most Valuable Player Mahomes go head-to-head.
Mahomes – the Super Bowl LIV MVP – hailed Jackson, telling reporters on Thursday: "He can make all the throws; he can run with the ball; he can really do it all.
"It's always fun to watch guys like that -- that work hard, put in the work, and they're able to go out there and have success on the field.
"And then as far as our relationship, talking and stuff like that -- we kinda have the same endorsements with Oakley and EA Sports, and so we've seen each other through that.
"Then when you play this quarterback position, there's kinda like a group; it's a tight group where you kinda shoot ideas off each other and stuff like that. So he's a great player, and I look forward to the contest this week."
"It's a little different 'cause when you're on offense, you're never gonna go face-to-face; you never get to go straight-up against Lamar, but you know that he's gonna go out there and put up points," added Mahomes.
"So you just have to trust in your defense that they're gonna make stops when they're needed, they're gonna find ways to do whatever they can to stop all the great stuff that he does. And then as an offense, you're facing a great defense, and so you're gonna have find ways to put up points on the board if you want to get the win."
Just hours after Jackson announced that he had asked the Baltimore Ravens to trade him, the Colts became the first franchise to declare their intentions to look into acquiring the former league MVP.
"Anytime a special player is available, which [Jackson] is, you've got to do the work," Colts general manager Chris Ballard said Monday at the NFL's annual league meeting in Phoenix.
"I'm not going to get into deep discussions on where it's at or what we're doing or what we might do," Ballard said. "But what I'll tell you is he's a really good player, really special player. But you never know how any of this will work out.
"I think anytime at that position we have a chance to acquire a guy, you've got to do your work on it to see if it's doable," Ballard said. "Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not.
"If you don't feel like you have one that can absolutely change the franchise in terms of leading you every year, I think you're always going to feel some pressure to get that player right."
Since Andrew Luck’s surprising retirement in 2019, the Colts have shuffled through a list of stop-gap options at quarterback, including Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan.
Jackson confirmed suspicions that his relationship with the Ravens has been fractured Monday when he announced in a statement on Twitter that he had requested a trade on March 2.
On March 7, Baltimore placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback, meaning that other teams could sign Jackson to an offer sheet in exchange for two first-round draft picks.
Teams could offer more than two first-rounders to the Ravens as a part of any potential blockbuster trade.
Ballard said his team will do their "due diligence" to bring an answer at quarterback to the Colts – who own the fourth overall selection in next month’s draft – and had previously said the team would consider trading up for the right quarterback.
On Monday, Ballard made the case for drafting a quarterback outside the first round.
"What I would tell you is that there's good players in this draft at every level," Ballard said. "Everybody just talks about the top four [quarterbacks], but there's some more guys out there that are pretty good players.
"And I think history's shown – especially in the last few years with [Philadelphia Eagles quarterback] Jalen [Hurts] being one and [San Francisco 49ers’] Brock Purdy coming in and playing really well – they come at every level. So, we'll do our work on every one of them."
Colts' MVP contender running back Jonathan Taylor was among five players confirmed earlier this week but he was joined by six other team-mates as the full NFC and AFC rosters were revealed on Wednesday.
Indianapolis also had center Ryan Kelly, guard Quenton Nelson, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, linebacker Darius Leonard, cornerback Kenny Moore II and special teams long snapper Luke Rhodes all selected, with the Colts enjoying a run of five wins in six games to sit second in the AFC South.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady had already been named earlier this week for a record 15th Pro Bowl, with Arizona Cardinals' Kyler Murray and Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers joining him as NFC QBs.
The selected AFC quarterbacks were Los Angeles Chargers' Justin Herbert, Baltimore Ravens' Lamar Jackson and Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs and Chargers had six players selected in total, while the Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers and Bucs all had five representatives.
Four rookies were selected in Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts, Chargers offensive tackle Rashawn Slater and Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons.
The NFC and AFC rosters are determined by a vote of the fans, players and coaches.
Miami had lost their last three games against Baltimore entering Thursday's matchup, with each defeat by more than a 30-point margin – 38-6 in 2016, 40-0 in 2017 and 59-10 in 2019. The only other time an NFL team had three consecutive wins by 30-plus points against a particular team was in 1994-1995 when the San Francisco 49ers dominated the Atlanta Falcons, per Stats Perform.
But the streaking Dolphins (3-7) snapped that skid against the Ravens (6-3) as they celebrated back-to-back victories after Tua Tagovailoa sealed the win with a late touchdown.
It was a tense showdown at Hard Rock Stadium, where the Dolphins took a 6-3 lead into half-time via consecutive field goals from Jason Sanders.
Sanders converted another field goal early in the fourth quarter before Xavier Howard's 49-yard fumble recovery stretched the Dolphins' advantage to 15-3.
Lamar Jackson (26-of-43 passing for 238 yards, a touchdown and interception, while rushing for another 39 yards) found Mark Andrews with less than five minutes remaining to close the deficit, but Tagovailoa had the final say with a rushing TD to ensure Miami emerged triumphant in Week 10.
Tagovailoa completed eight of his 13 passes for no TD or interception, though he did rush for a score as fellow Dolphins quarterback Jacoby Brissett was 11-of-23 passing for 156 yards.
The Bills had lived up to their pre-season Super Bowl favourites tag after outscoring their opponents 72-17 in their first two outings, but they came unstuck in Florida.
Two touchdowns from Chase Edmonds propelled the Dolphins to a first win in eight against the Dolphins and gave them sole possession of top spot in the AFC East.
The Dolphins came out on top despite being outgained 497-212 in total yards, with Buffalo picking up 31 first downs to their opponents' 15.
Josh Allen has often been a menace against the Dolphins and completed a career-high 42 passes from 63 attempts for 400 yards and two touchdowns, but it was not enough for the Bills.
Miami took the lead with 10 minutes remaining through the second of Edmonds' touchdowns, and held on despite punter Thomas Morstead bizarrely kicking one into his own teammates' rear end and out of bounds for a safety.
Allen drove the Bills as far as Miami's 41-yard line on a completion to Isaiah McKenzie, but he was unable to get out of bounds and the clock struck zero before Allen could spike the ball for a potential game-winning field goal.
Jackson's five inspires Ravens
Lamar Jackson's five touchdowns inflicted a 37-26 loss on the New England Patriots and moved the Baltimore Ravens 2-1 in the AFC North.
Jackson became the first player in NFL history to register three-plus pass touchdowns and 100+ rushing yards twice in the same season, doing so in back-to-back games.
Mac Jones matched Jackson with a rushing touchdown and threw for 323 yards, but the Pats' offense ultimately self-destructed in a disappointing defeat at Gillette Stadium, with Jones limping off at the end to add insult to injury.
Mahomes interception proves costly
Rodney McLeod picked off Patrick Mahomes with eight seconds left for the latter's first interception of the season as the Indianapolis Colts beat the Kansas City Chiefs 20-17.
Mahomes finished the game 20 for 35 for 262 yards, one touchdown and that costly interception that saw the Chiefs fall to 2-1 for the year.
The Colts only took the lead with 24 seconds left in the fourth quarter as Matt Ryan and Jelani Woods hooked up for the second time with a 12-yard touchdown.
A 25-20 victory for the Eagles put Philadelphia one win away from securing the top seed in the NFC and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, but they were made to work hard by the three-win Bears.
Fields was the driving force behind the Bears' valiant efforts, throwing two touchdowns and rushing for 95 yards to break 1,000 rushing yards for the season, joining Lamar Jackson (2019, 2020) and Michael Vick (2006) as the only quarterbacks to hit the four-figure mark.
While the loss dropped the Bears to 3-11, the second-worst record in the NFL, Slay believes the future is bright for Chicago with Fields leading the team.
"He's a 4.4 guy [in the 40-yard dash]. That's what makes it tough. He is not like a 4.7 or nothing. When he gets up the field he can make you miss and he can run past you," he told reporters.
"The kid's tough. He gets hit a lot and keeps going. He had a cramp, went in and came back in for a two-minute drive. He's a tough kid.
"Chicago got a lot of upside coming from him. They're gonna have a great future with him. He's a highlight film, for real man. I salute my cap off to him and it's hard for a quarterback to be that tough."
With three games remaining in the Bears' season, Fields sits 207 yards away from breaking Jackson's single-season rushing record of 1,206 yards for a quarterback, set in 2019, and conceded breaking that mark is a goal for him with the Bears' playoff hopes having long since been ended.
"I'm already deep in it this year, so might as well try to go get that record," he told reporters.
"I think I need, what, 206? So, three games left? That's about 70 yards a game? We'll see what happens."
While Jackson has broken the 1,000-yard mark in two different seasons, Fields does not intend to make it a habit, adding: "I don't plan on rushing for 1,000 yards every year."
The Bears face a difficult end to the season, with home games against the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings, who have already secured their playoff spots, either side of a trip to face a rejuvenated Lions side in Detroit.
Fields sustained the hip injury in the Bears' 41-10 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday, with Nathan Peterman to start in his absence at Soldier Field.
The 2021 NFL Draft 11th overall selection will finish the regular season 64 yards short of Lamar Jackson's NFL QB rushing record of 1,206 yards.
Fields had undergone an MRI after reporting hip soreness on Monday, with the scan revealing a strain.
"He's just not able to go full speed," Bears head coach Matt Eberflus told reporters on Wednesday. "I asked him how it was today, and he said it's still real sore."
Eberflus insisted that the 3-13 Bears' draft position was not behind the decision to rule out Fields, given they could jump the Houston Texans to earn the No.1 overall pick should they lose and the Texans win their Week 18 games.
"I would just go back to our normal operating procedure," Eberflus said. "So, what is it? It's the medical staff, so he didn't clear that hurdle.
"If he'd have cleared that hurdle, then we'd have to go to the next one, which is the coaches. Is he functioning the way he can function to protect himself, right?
"Then it's the player. Does he feel good about doing that. So, he didn't clear the first one. So, that's just where it is."
Fields will finish the season with a passing completion rate of 60.4 per cent for 2242 yards with 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The 23-year-old had 1143 rushing yards for eight touchdowns.
The 2019 NFL MVP has shown no willingness to engage in discussions with the Ravens over a contract extension.
He has insisted he has no desire to part company with Baltimore, but Jackson has not been present as the Ravens have started early on-field preparations for the 2022 campaign with the OTAs – organised team activities.
Jackson was criticised by former NFL quarterback Chris Simms, who referenced previous comments from the Ravens star, who previously said he wanted to be the Tom Brady of his era.
Simms said on PFT Live: "Brady wouldn't be missing OTAs in year four of his career.... Brady didn't miss an OTA until he had played in four Super Bowls."
Responding to those comments quoting a tweet featuring a clip of Simms' remarks, Jackson wrote: "Lamar wants to be Lamar Chris.
"This part of OTAs is voluntary my guy I will be there, just not on your watch. It's probably other QBs not attending voluntary OTAs either but since it's Lamar it's a huge deal. Find something else to talk about."
Simms responded, saying: "That’s all good my man. You be you. I am rooting for you. Yes I would like to see you at OTAs. But you got to do what’s best for you. Not singling you out.
"We have discussed all QBs who have not attended OTAs. You are Lamar freaking Jackson!! Of course we r gonna talk bout you."
Jackson won the MVP award in his second season after throwing for 3,127 yards and 36 touchdowns with just six interceptions. He also ran for 1,206 yards and seven scores.
However, the Ravens suffered a shock Divisional Round loss to the Tennessee Titans to end that season, and were eliminated at the same stage of the 2020 campaign by the Buffalo Bills.
Jackson endured an injury-hindered 2021 season, throwing 16 touchdowns to 13 interceptions and adding a career-low two touchdowns on the ground as the Ravens missed the playoffs with an 8-9 record.
No player in the NFL has a higher yards-per-carry average over the course of the last three seasons than Jackson's 6.36.
Baltimore trailed 10-0 after the first quarter but scored 20 of the next 23 points in the playoff contest, including rushing touchdowns from Lamar Jackson and J.K. Dobbins.
The 20-13 result was particularly sweet for quarterback Jackson, as the reigning NFL MVP had suffered defeats in his previous two playoff appearances with the franchise.
Having recovered from a 6-5 record just to seal a Wild Card spot, Harbaugh reflected on a memorable result that keeps alive hopes of a Super Bowl appearance this year.
"I'm going to tell you right now this is the best win. In perspective, it's going to be top five for sure, but right now, for me, this is the best win ever," the Ravens head coach told the media.
"Not just because of what was at stake, but because of the guys, because of what it meant to the team. What it meant to all of our guys.
"This may be the best win I've ever been associated with. Defensive effort - it was disciplined, it was eyes on your luggage, it was finishing, it was running to the ball, it was tackling.
"I thought our defensive line did a phenomenal job against their very good offensive line. We got them stopped a lot of times before they got started.
"It's a team effort across the board, it always is."
Harbaugh revealed the Ravens had given a game ball to Jackson, who finished the game with 179 yards passing and a further 136 on the ground.
He threw an interception early in the game that set up a Titans field goal but recovered from the setback, including producing a stunning 48-yard touchdown run in the second quarter that helped make it 10-10 at the half.
"It's the best run I've seen by a quarterback," Harbaugh said. "It just got us back in the game. We needed points at that point."
Baltimore outrushed their opponents by 236 yards to 51 - the 185-yard differential is the fourth biggest by a road team in a playoff game.
"It feels good. I knew we had the capability of doing that," Jackson - whose touchdown was the second-longest rushing score by a quarterback in NFL playoff history - told the media.
"There will always be naysayers, no matter what. It's one game at a time - I appreciate the win, a hard-fought team victory, because they played great as well."
With the scores tied at 20-20 in the fourth quarter, the Ravens put together a 14-play, 93-yard drive from their own five-yard line to give themselves the opportunity to gain a precious late lead.
However, the drive stalled at the crucial moment and the Ravens faced a fourth-and-goal from the Bills' two-yard line with just over four minutes left in the game.
While a short field goal would have given the Ravens the lead, Harbaugh opted to go for the touchdown. The decision did not pay off as quarterback Lamar Jackson threw an interception, before Bills quarterback Josh Allen led a 77-yard drive to set up Tyler Bass for the game-winning field goal as time expired.
After the match, Harbaugh defended his late-game strategy, telling reporters: "[If] you kick a field goal there, now it's not a three-down game anymore, it's a four-down game.
"You're putting them out there, you're putting your defense at a disadvantage because they've got four downs to convert all the way down the field and a chance to again score seven, and then you lose the game on a touchdown.
"It didn't turn out that way, unfortunately, and we lost the game. So, hindsight, you could take the points, but if you look at it analytically, understand why we did it."
The decision sparked a furious touchline altercation between Harbaugh and cornerback Marcus Peters, with the former Kansas City Chief having to be pulled away from his coach.
But Harbaugh was not fazed by the interaction after the game, adding: "Emotions run high.
"We're on the same page, he and I. We have a great relationship, we have an honest relationship. I love him, I hope he still loves me. We'll see. I'm a Marcus Peters guy."
The Titans earned an upset 28-12 victory on the road to earn a spot in the Conference Championships, with the top-seeded Ravens unable to cope with Tennessee's physicality.
Jackson has racked up sensational numbers in his first full season as a starter, becoming the first player to throw for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards, while breaking Michael Vick's single-season rushing record for a quarterback.
But it just did not happen against the Ravens for Jackson, who ended with 21-of-59 passing for 365 yards and was intercepted twice.
Ravens coach Harbaugh has no concerns over 23-year-old Jackson in the long term, though.
"I won't have to say much to him. We will talk for sure and we will see where that conversation goes, just from a standpoint of two people talking," he told reporters.
"But I know how he's going to respond. He is going to respond by being extremely motivated and determined to improve as a football player.
"I think the strategy made between last year and this year are pretty indicative of that, and we expect him to get better. That's what he should do.
"It's simple – [for] him and everybody else. That's what we all should strive to do and I just know his character and who he is as a person. That's what he will be thinking about."
Jackson was pretty forthright with his own assessment, saying: "We just beat ourselves. I had a lot of mistakes on my behalf. Three turnovers, that shouldn't happen. But they came out to play."
When it was pointed out he is winless in the postseason, Jackson replied: "I don't really care about what they say.
"This is my second year in the league. Most people [aren't] able to bring it to the playoffs. I don't really worry about [what] people say. We're going to keep going [and] get ready for next year."
Jackson was knocked out of last week's win over the Denver Broncos because of a knee injury, which has kept him out of practice all week.
The Ravens listed him as doubtful on Friday, meaning backup Tyler Huntley will likely get the start for 8-4 Baltimore.
History says the Ravens will find victory difficult to come by against Pittsburgh without their former MVP quarterback, even against a 5-7 Steelers team that is a shadow of the former AFC powerhouse it once was.
Indeed, since drafting Jackson in 2018, the Ravens are 45-16 (73.8 win percentage) in games started by Jackson and 6-10 (37.5%) when anyone else starts at quarterback.
And, though the Steelers appear unlikely to make the playoffs, the Ravens are facing Pittsburgh likely without Jackson at a time when their arch rivals are showing signs of life.
The Steelers have won three of their past four games and have not committed a turnover in that stretch. It is the Steelers' longest such streak since turnovers have been tracked in 1950.
Mike Tomlin's Steelers have the edge in recent matchups with the Ravens. They are on a four-game win streak against the Ravens with all four wins coming by five or fewer points.
Only two matchups in NFL history have seen a team beat another five straight times all by fewer than six points (Philadelphia vs. Washington – six, 1992-95 and Raiders vs. Denver – five, 1989-1991).
Past performance from the Ravens suggests Huntley will not be able to end that run. With the Bengals (8-4) breathing down their neck in the division, there is huge onus on him to throw the formbook out of the window in a tough road matchup.
Huntley has served as Jackson's backup in Baltimore for the past two years since going undrafted in 2020 but has so far been restricted to just 29 passes and 16 carries across five games in the regular season and playoffs.
He threw 13 passes in last year's playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills, completing only six for a passer rating of 59.8 after Jackson exited with concussion.
Huntley was given his chance from the start against the Chicago Bears with Jackson missing due to a non-coronavirus illness.
The absence of the 2019 NFL MVP came as a blow to the Ravens, whose offense is ranked second in the league with 414.1 total net yards per game this year. Jackson ranks ninth for passing yards (2,447) and seventh for rushing yards (639), leading all QBs in the latter.
Elsewhere on Sunday, Boyle lined up under center for the Detroit Lions against the Cleveland Browns as Jared Goff recovers from an oblique muscle injury.
Boyle had not previously featured for the Lions but did play 11 times across two seasons with the Green Bay Packers, albeit he threw for just 15 yards, was sacked for 11 yards and lost a further 16 rushing.
The Lions' offense ranks 27th (319.4 net yards), with Goff throwing just eight touchdowns and six interceptions across nine games.
It’s not uncommon for established players to skip their team’s OTAs, and although Jackson won the league’s MVP Award in 2019, he is coming off an injury-marred 2021 season and is entering the final year of his rookie contract. The fact that he hasn’t engaged in discussions with the Ravens over a contract extension is also somewhat concerning.
But Harbaugh is certain his star quarterback is training hard on his own, and will be present when the Ravens open mandatory minicamp on June 14.
"I expect him to be here at mandatory minicamp," Harbaugh said Wednesday. "I know he's working hard. Lamar Jackson's a hard worker, so I'm not worried about how hard he's working.
"I fully expect him to come back in great shape, that's what he talks about. I'm sure he's throwing, I'm sure he's doing a good job, and when he gets back here, we’ll roll with Lamar."
Jackson was criticized by Chris Simms on Pro Football Talk Live on May 27, with the former NFL QB saying: "(Tom) Brady wouldn't be missing OTAs in year four of his career... Brady didn't miss an OTA until he had played in four Super Bowls."
Responding to those comments quoting a tweet featuring a clip of Simms' remarks, Jackson wrote: "Lamar wants to be Lamar Chris.
"This part of OTAs is voluntary my guy I will be there, just not on your watch. It's probably other QBs not attending voluntary OTAs either but since it's Lamar it's a huge deal. Find something else to talk about."
Jackson, who is set to make just over $23 million guaranteed on his fifth-year option in 2022, averaged 240.2 passing yards and 63.9 yards rushing in 12 games last season. He finished with 16 passing touchdowns, a career-high 13 interceptions and an 87.0 QB rating – eighth lowest among the 30 quarterbacks with at least 350 passing attempts last season.
The Ravens lost four of the five games Jackson missed last season and finished 8-9 to miss the playoffs for the first time in his career.
