Steve Young pins blame on Ravens for slowing down Lamar Jackson’s career

Lamar Jackson won the second MVP award of his career last season, solidifying his status as one of the best quarterbacks the league has ever seen. When it came to throwing the ball, he had the best statistical year of his career, proving to many that he can also be a dynamic passer.

However, despite his regular-season success, Jackson failed to lead the Baltimore Ravens to a Super Bowl. The Ravens lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game last season, and the star quarterback didn't quite set the tone for a win.

Steve Young, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and three-time Super Bowl champion, recently talked about Jackson, and he believes that the Ravens slowed his career.

During a segment on the 'This is Football'' show, Young mentioned that the Ravens' obsession with running the ball slightly hindered Jackson's progress as a quarterback, but the franchise still did fairly well in a transition year.

Young said:

“The arc of his career has been slown by Baltimore’s fanaticism with the run. They’ve come out of that trance, they’re trying to transition, this was a transition year. I thought that Lamar has tried to lead his game into a more sophisticated passing game, which is what he needs to be one of the best that ever played.

"I’m going to take this as a transition season, which I thought was very successful. The Championship Game was a complete bummer but it doesn’t negate the advancement that they’ve made as an organization to give Lamar Jackson a chance to be the greatest that's ever played.”

Lamar Jackson threw for 3,678 yards, 24 touchdowns, and seven interceptions in 16 games last season, with a passer rating of 102.7. It was a career-high mark for Jackson when it came to passing yards, passes attempted, and completion percentage (67.2%).

Now that he and his teammates are more familiar with Todd Monken's system, expect the Ravens' offense to take another leap this year.

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Lamar Jackson's Ravens have the third-best odds to win Super Bowl

Lamar Jackson: Baltimore Ravens v Los Angeles Rams

The Ravens finished last season with the best record in the AFC and won 13 games. As things stand, they have the third-best odds (+900) to win the Super Bowl, behind the Kansas City Chiefs(+550) and the San Francisco 49ers (+600).

Lamar Jackson will be motivated to bounce back from his poor outing against the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game and will likely be an MVP candidate. However, things will not be as straightforward this time around.

The AFC North is arguably the most competitive division in pro football, and considering the Ravens have Super Bowl aspirations, they will have to go through a gauntlet of three outstanding teams in their division.

Joe Burrow and Deshaun Watson will be fully healthy to start the season. Moreover, the Pittsburgh Steelers have also improved at quarterback, which makes the road all the more tough for the Ravens.