Lamar Jackson says every game now 'win-or-go home' for Ravens - ESPN

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — When Lamar Jackson returns from a hamstring injury to start Thursday night's game in Miami, the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player acknowledged there is little margin for error for the Baltimore Ravens.

Jackson emphatically nodded his head when he was asked if it's going to feel like playoff time for a Ravens team that is off to a 2-5 start.

«Coach [John Harbaugh] touched on that with us in a team meeting: Each and every game is going to be like a win-or-go home game,» Jackson said after Tuesday's practice. «It's do-or-die right now, each and every week.»

Even though Jackson was sidelined for three games with a right hamstring injury, Jackson still played a leadership role. After the 37-20 loss in Kansas City on Sept. 28, Jackson told the head equipment manager to remove all the recreational distractions from the locker room, which included getting rid of the ping-pong table, video game consoles, cornhole boards, a basketball hoop and a pinball machine.

Jackson said all the games will be out of the locker room for the rest of the season and could return for offseason workouts in the spring.

«I told him to take all the games, ping pong, turn off the TVs — if we could have taken out the TVs they'd have been out of here, too,» Jackson said. «I appreciate Mr. Steve [Bisciotti, Ravens owner] for putting that in for us but we had to focus. I wouldn't say people don't take the job seriously — don't get me wrong — but I didn't feel like it was time for that. We have a lot of work to do.»

When Jackson plays Thursday night, it will mark a 32-day span between games for him. He returned to practice last week and has been a full participant in practice this week.

Before the injury, Jackson led the NFL with a 130.5