Lamar Jackson's up-and-down preseason continued in Monday night's 20-19 win over the Indianapolis Colts, which didn't sit well with the former Heisman Trophy winner.
Jackson, a rookie first-round pick, struggled mightily with his accuracy before throwing a 7-yard touchdown pass. He finished 7-of-15 passing for 49 yards on Monday night and has failed to complete over half of his throws in any of his three preseason appearances.
"I don't feel like I've performed at a high level yet," Jackson said.
It was a nightmare start for Jackson. He misfired on his first four passes and went three-and-out on his first three series.
Jackson chalked up his problems to a procedural mistake on the sideline.
"I came out cold," Jackson said. "I got to learn that when the vet is up, I have to stay warm through the process. I didn't do a good job tonight. I started off slow, incompleting a lot of balls that I didn't like, but I ended up throwing a touchdown."
Jackson's best throw was the touchdown toss to Chris Moore. Rolling to his right, Jackson squeezed the throw to Moore in the back of the end zone.
It showed Jackson's accuracy and his patience, because Moore was the third read on the play. This also continued a trend for Jackson, who has thrown better on the run than in the pocket.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh was pleased with how Jackson rebounded.
"That's the great thing about Lamar. He's confident. He's going to keep competing," Harbaugh said. "He's always going to believe that he can make the play to turn the game. He did a great job of doing that."
Harbaugh then added, "There's no question in my mind that he has a great future."
One of the Ravens' biggest decisions this preseason is whether to give the primary backup job to Jackson or carry a third quarterback in Robert Griffin III, who has been impressive this preseason.
Griffin has completed 69.2 percent of his passes (18-of-26) for 177 yards. He has thrown two touchdowns and one interception for a 97.7 passer rating.
Jackson has connected on 41.8 percent of his throws (18-of-43) for 201 yards. He has recorded two touchdowns and one interception for a 62.2 rating.
The Ravens' next preseason game is Saturday in Miami.