Hey, EA Sports: Lamar Jackson Is Ready To Be In Madden's 99 Club
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson makes plays on the field that don't seem possible, be it with his arm or his legs.
Jackson's coach at Boynton Beach Community High, Rick Swain, used to call him "Mr. Video Game."
"He stood apart from everybody else. It looked like you were playing Madden or something," Swain told ESPN in 2019. "You had the supercharged guy."
Jackson filled up the stat sheet in the Ravens' 31-25 overtime win against the Indianapolis Colts. In case you need a reminder, he went 37-for-43 with 442 passing yards and 4 touchdowns, and rushed for 62 yards.
On Wednesday, a reporter asked Jackson about Madden, the long-running NFL video game franchise. Friends were texting him about the quarterback's 85% completion percentage against the Colts and saying, "I can't even do that in Madden," the reporter said.
"I can do that in Madden," Jackson quickly replied with a smile.
So is it time for the quarterback to be in the 99 Club, a select group of players with the game's highest overall ranking of 99 overall?
"Man, I feel like we should have been in the 99 Club," Jackson joked. "Man, I don't know what's up with Madden."
And then he pretended to wave off the question. "We ain't even talking about that one," he said.
Madden 22 has Jackson has a 92 overall, according to rankings from the game's developer, EA Sports. His elite speed is represented with a 96 speed rating and a 96 acceleration rating, and EA Sports even seems to recognize Jackson's cannon arm with a 92 throwing power ranking.
But they ding the Ravens quarterback for his accuracy, with ratings on short, medium and deep passes being no higher than 89.
Maybe they will make the necessary changes after watching a replay of that Colts game.
