Odell felt this was Lamar’s year: ‘I had never seen somebody so locked in’

Odell Beckham Jr. knows what it takes for a team to win a Super Bowl, and the Ravens receiver said he thought this was the year for Baltimore and quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Beckham addressed Baltimore’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game, saying he expects the Jackson-led Ravens to remain in contention despite yet another disappointing playoff exit with the star signal-caller under center.

“When you have a player like Lamar who, 30 years from now, we’ll speak Lamar Jackson’s name and everyone is gonna know and remember,” Beckham said, according to Paul Mancano of The Baltimore Banner. “There are certain moments that define you, defining moments in your career. This is just one that will be in his career. The greats have all been through tough times, and I don’t think this is gonna stop him from wanting to get to his ultimate goal.

“I think if anything he’s gonna work even harder. He wants it bad. I had never seen somebody so locked in and just in that flow and in that era. I just felt like it was his time.”

Baltimore entered the postseason as the favorite in the AFC and finished the regular season as the No. 1 seed. Jackson is expected to win his second NFL MVP after passing for 24 touchdowns, rushing for five TDs, and posting a 102.7 passer rating in 2023, the second-highest of his career.

Jackson had a four-touchdown outing in a divisional-round triumph over the Houston Texans, but he wasn’t able to replicate that success in Sunday’s 17-10 loss to the Chiefs. The 27-year-old – who’s now 2-4 as a starter in the playoffs – completed just 54% of his passes with a 75.5 rating. He’s had a passer rating of 80 or worse in five of those six career postseason starts.

Brought in to be one of Jackson’s main weapons, Beckham caught only three passes for 22 yards in the AFC championship. The star wideout joined Baltimore on a one-year, $15-million deal after not playing in 2022 while recovering from a torn ACL. He helped the Los Angeles Rams win Super Bowl LVI before suffering his knee injury in the big game.

“There have been some bumps in the road, and there have been some hard times,” Beckham said. “It’s a lot of demand on your body. It’s a lot of hours people don’t see where you’re at home, you’re doing rehab, you’re doing all of these things. I was just finally starting to feel even better as this game approached, and just wanted to be able to leave my mark, like everybody in here. I was telling some of the younger guys, ‘This is where your legacy is made.’”

Beckham ranked second on the team with 565 receiving yards during the regular season. It’s unclear if he’ll re-sign with the Ravens, but the 31-year-old said Sunday postgame that he loved his time in Baltimore in 2023.

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