Opinion: With AFC North title in hand, should the Ravens be cautious with Lamar Jackson?

Tom Schad | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption What can't Lamar Jackson do? What I’m Hearing: We all know Jackson can run, but why is no one talking about his passing game?

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the final score of Baltimore's win over New York.

BALTIMORE — At this time of year, the Baltimore Ravens have typically been in the thick of a playoff race, fighting with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North or trying to claw their way to a wild-card spot.

This year, obviously, has been different.

With MVP frontrunner Lamar Jackson at the helm, the Ravens have already locked up a playoff spot and a division title with two weeks left in the regular season. They're two games ahead of New England in the win column after Thursday night's 42-21 shellacking of the New York Jets, and they can clinch a first-round bye if Kansas City or New England lose Sunday — or home-field advantage if both teams lose. They're in the metaphorical driver's seat in the AFC.

The Ravens have never earned a No. 1 playoff seed, so the looming question for coach John Harbaugh and company is an unfamiliar one: Is it time for them to start thinking about resting their key players, Jackson in particular?

NFL Network reported Thursday that the Ravens plan to hold Jackson out in Week 17 against the Steelers if their playoff seeding is set in stone by then — even if the Steelers, arguably their fiercest division rival, need to win that game to get into the playoffs.

But it's a tricky situation, especially with a player as fiercely competitive as Jackson. Harbaugh acknowledged that even pulling him midway through the fourth quarter of a lopsided game against the Jets on Thursday night "was not an easy decision."

"If you look around the league, you look historically, most teams keep their quarterback in right to the end," Harbaugh said. "We've kind of changed that a little bit. We've done differently than most teams have. We've taken (Jackson) out. It's been good, and it speaks well to our backup, Robert Griffin (III)."

Jackson threw for 212 yards and five touchdowns against the Jets, while also rushing for 86 yards on eight carries — breaking Michael Vick's single-season rushing record for a quarterback in the process.

The 22-year-old quarterback's penchant for running, and offensive coordinator Greg Roman's willingness to call designed run plays for him, only complicates the decision of when and how to rest him. He's taken a number of crunching hits over the past few games, and he was listed as questionable this week with a quad injury after experiencing some soreness after last week's win over the Buffalo Bills.

RAVENS ROLL: Baltimore clinches second consecutive AFC North title

RECORD-SETTER: Lamar Jackson sets record for single-season rushing yards by a QB

NFL NEWSLETTER: Sign up now to get football news delivered to your inbox

Safety Earl Thomas told reporters Tuesday that while he respects Jackson's toughness, he does also worry about some of the hits he sustains.

"Every time somebody hits him, he doesn’t need to be taking those hits," Thomas said. "I think the refs need to pay close attention to that as well and protect him a little bit more, because teams are trying to — I’m not saying they’re trying to hurt Lamar, but they’re definitely going at his legs more than they were doing it at first."

Jackson acknowledged that he "got popped" on the run that broke Vick's record Thursday. Then, on another carry in the first quarter, he veered from the hashmarks all the way to the sideline to get out of bounds. He said he wasn't trying to be unusually cautious. That's just how the play unfolded.

"You've just got to flow with it, play football," Jackson said.

Jackson isn't the only player whom Baltimore could consider resting over the next few weeks, as the playoff picture solidifies.

Tight end Mark Andrews, who has become one of his quarterback's go-to targets, was nursing a knee injury this week but played Thursday and caught a touchdown pass. Several veterans — from running back Mark Ingram and guard Marshal Yanda to safety Earl Thomas — would probably welcome additional opportunities to rest their bodies and recover.

Most TD receptions by a TE in franchise history❗️@Mandrews_81 ❗️❗️ pic.twitter.com/KlbJklw4tB — Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 13, 2019

Harbaugh said the upcoming weekend would help with that. As the coach monitors the Chiefs and Patriots games ("I'll have a rooting interest," he quipped), his players will have until Tuesday to relax. They won't practice again until Wednesday, Harbaugh said.

"We're going to try to take full advantage of it, recovery-wise, both emotionally and physically," he said. "Try to heal up and be at full strength against the Browns next week."

Ravens players said winning the AFC North was their first goal for 2019, but not the only one. To that end, they wore shirts after Thursday's game with the slogan "The North Is Not Enough." But as the playoffs inch closer, and the stakes get higher, reaching those goals might be a matter of staying healthy as much as it is beating Cleveland or Pittsburgh — particularly when it comes to their star quarterback.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.

If you love talking football, we have the perfect spot for you. Join our Facebook Group, The Ruling Off the Field, to engage in friendly debate and conversation with fellow football fans and our NFL insiders.