Lamar Jackson reveled in his victory lap around Mike Florio following Monday’s significant win. The seasoned sportswriter Florio gained widespread attention this week for his explicit prediction before the Christmas Day clash between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers. Florio boldly forecasted that the 49ers would dominate the Ravens, citing San Francisco’s travel advantage and predicting they would “dismantle” Baltimore.
However, Florio’s prediction couldn’t have been more off the mark, as the Ravens emerged victorious with a convincing 33-19 final score, prompting a flurry of memes. As Jackson, the star quarterback for Baltimore, exited the field and headed into the tunnel after the game, he was caught on television playfully taking a jab at Florio.
In his postgame press conference, Jackson continued to mock Florio, expressing his dissatisfaction with the sportswriter’s disrespectful comments. “You can’t just discredit us,” Jackson remarked. “We’re grown men; we’ve got to feed our families. He can have his opinion, but just don’t be talking like that. That’s disrespectful. That’s very disrespectful.”
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Jackson added, “He needs to keep doing his job and just don’t come off like that towards us because he isn’t putting the pads on… The guy we’re not even playing against just comes out being disrespectful to us. I guess he wanted more views on his little channel. We’re going to leave it at that.”
Attempting to amend his stance, Florio issued an apology on ProFootballTalk’s official page, acknowledging Jackson’s perspective. “Lamar is right,” Florio wrote. “I apologize for how I phrased my opinion. I believed the 49ers were dramatically better than every other team in the NFL: Cowboys, Eagles, Chiefs, Dolphins, everyone. The Ravens proved otherwise. They deserve complete and total respect for what they accomplished.”
Known for his instigative style, Florio has stirred controversy with numerous NFL figures over the years. However, the Ravens, now boasting an NFL-best 12-3 record for the season, have earned their respect, and Jackson is keen on claiming it.
