What was Lamar Jackson’s tasteless joke after Ravens win?

The Baltimore Ravens were hoping not to fall to an 0-3 start when they went into Dallas to face the Cowboys. They were coming off of two narrow losses in a row to start the season. Fortunately for them, they got their wish, improving to 1-2 instead with a 28-25 win over the Cowboys.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson finished with 12 of 15 completions for 182 yards and one touchdown plus 14 carries for 87 rushing yards and another rushing touchdown, playing a major part in helping the Ravens get out of their winless slump. He also faked the handoff and made the 10-yard rush at the end of the game that allowed the clock to wind down to zero and give the Ravens the win.

Jackson’s tasteless joke

While the Ravens were understandably excited about their first win of the season, Jackson made a crude joke that didn’t sit well with fans.

In each of their first two losses, the Ravens made fourth quarter mistakes that led to their defeat. When the clock finally wound down and the Ravens walked away with the victory over the Cowboys, Jackson joked about the players and coaches being on “suicide watch”.

“Man, the game is not over until it’s zero-zero on the clock. I didn’t like things when it was going towards the end, we should have put more points on the board and we should have put the gas on the pedal when we were up 28-6,” said Jackson. “But we got the dub, man and we’re going to regroup on Tuesday. We needed it bad because I believe some people were on suicide watch. We got the dub and we’ve got to keep going.”

While FOX Sports reporter Tom Rinaldi can be heard laughing at the joke, many fans did not take it that well, as suicide is a very real and serious topic, and the lack of sensitivity towards that is upsetting.

One person on X responded with this: “Lamar Jackson making a joke about suicide when it came to the Ravens needing a win was an embarrassment. And Tom Rinaldi laughing in the background is the cherry on top. Do better. #lamarjackson #nflonfox #suicideawareness”

Another responded with this comment: “Did Lamar Jackson just say people are on a suicide watch over football? That is not funny. Both Lamar and that media person should be ashamed. One for saying and the other laughing. Suicde is a serious problem that people deal with and you have no idea what one goes through.”

I don’t believe Jackson had any real ill-intent with the comment, but after the backlash he’s receiving, we will see if he or the Ravens address it ahead of their Week 4 game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football.