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Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens absolutely lambasted the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football and, for the big picture, that’s all that matters. 

But in today’s NFL, sports betting, and fantasy sports are one of the major driving factors for interest in the league. 

Thus, Lamar Jackson got a heavy dose of social media criticism for not padding his stats during the blowout. 

Of course, he didn’t need to do that and nor should he have tried to do that. Part of the issue for Jackson is longevity. He’s been hurt several times in his career, so when the opportunity presents itself, the team needs to protect him. 

That’s what happened on Sunday night against the Bills. The Ravens took a 21-3 lead into halftime and maintained that 18-point edge going into the fourth quarter. 

Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson reminds people that his job is to win, like he did against the Buffalo Bills, not to pad stats for NFL bettors.

Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson reminds people that his job is to win, like he did against the Buffalo Bills, not to pad stats for NFL bettors.

(Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Because of that, Jackson attempted just 18 passes in the game for 156 yards and two touchdowns. He also only ran the ball six times for 54 yards and another touchdown. 

Surely, fantasy football players aren’t complaining about a three-touchdown night despite the low yardage totals. 

However, many NFL bettors wanted Jackson to go “over” his passing yards total on the night. Of course, he did not, having thrown for under 160 yards in the game. 

Jackson let NFL bettors know on Monday that he couldn’t care less about their “parlays” that “ain’t hit.” 

Jackson later responded to agree with a Ravens fan who lamented that NFL players are just “statistics on legs” with the explosion in popularity of fantasy football and legalized sports betting. 

This has always been a bit of a tough issue for me, personally, because I do see both sides. 

The Baltimore Ravens didn’t give Lamar Jackson a $260 million contract to put up massive statistics. They gave him that money to win a Super Bowl. 

However, NFL players wouldn’t make that kind of money if there wasn’t massive interest in the league. Part of the reason for that interest is sports bettors and fantasy football players. 

So, while Jackson doesn’t care about making those fans happy, he should understand that those fans are part of the reason he’ll eventually be worth a quarter of a billion dollars. 

That being said, the people reaching out directly to Jackson to complain about his stats are losers. 

Take your loss like a man or woman. It’s not Jackson’s fault you didn’t factor in the possibility that the game might go that way. 

Just take the L, unlike the Ravens against the Bills.