Lamar Jackson has the chance to make NFL history on Sunday, but the Baltimore Ravens star is solely focused on securing victory to reach the playoffs.
Jackson requires 92 rushing yards against the Cincinnati Bengals for his second successive 1,000-yard season in the NFL – no quarterback in league history has ever rushed for 1,000 yards twice in their career.
Reigning NFL MVP Jackson set the single-season rushing record for a quarterback by tallying 1,216 yards in 2019, surpassing Michael Vick.
But as the Ravens (10-5) try to clinch a postseason berth in their regular-season finale, Jackson told reporters: "Being honest, I just want to win Sunday and come out of the game healthy.
"It doesn't really matter about any records being broken. I just want to win to get to the playoffs."
"Our job is to focus on the task at hand." @Lj_era8 pic.twitter.com/LVOE3aHi5D
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 30, 2020
"I did it in college, so I didn't ever doubt myself," Jackson replied when asked if he thought he would be a 1,000-yard rusher in the NFL. "[But] it wasn't really on my mind, to be honest, that I would be running for 1,000 yards."
The Ravens have won four consecutive games to stand on the cusp of the playoffs, scoring an NFL-high 37.0 points per game in the process.
Baltimore have run the ball for 933 yards over the four games, the most in a four-game stretch since the Atlanta Falcons ran for 937 yards in Weeks 1-4 in 2006.
"We're trying to get [to the Super Bowl]. Our job is to focus on the task at hand," Jackson insisted.
"Nobody's peeking or nobody feel like we done did anything because we're still fighting. We got to keep that focus going."
The Ravens local media have selected @Lj_era8 as the Ravens team MVP for the 2020 season. pic.twitter.com/0SXeccNBvi
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 30, 2020
Jackson was also voted team MVP by local media for the second straight season on Wednesday – becoming the first Ravens player to earn back-to-back honours since Ray Rice in 2011 and 2012.
"I appreciate that," Jackson said. "You know, I always tell you guys I feel like that's a team award. We've been through so much adversity this year and humps and stuff like that. Guys just found a way to pull through and keep fighting, especially for this playoff run."
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh added: "Lamar is a special person. He's a talented guy, of course. He's in the process of proving himself, and making a name for himself, and building a career as a quarterback in the National Football League. … We're proud to be a part of it and we'll help in every way we can."