jackson.jpg
Getty Images

Lamar Jackson briefly exited Monday night's game against the Browns after suffering cramps. Jackson, who rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns prior to leaving the game in the fourth quarter, was replaced by Trace McSorley with the Ravens ahead by six points. The Ravens quickly fell behind without Jackson, however, as Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield gave the Browns the lead on a five-yard run with 6:33 left. 

After nearly two full possessions on the bench, Jackson returned to the game with two minutes left after McSorley left the field with a knee injury. Facing a fourth-and-four on the Browns' 44-yard-line, Jackson ran to his right before hitting a wide open Marquise Brown for the go-ahead score. J.K. Dobbins, who scored a touchdown earlier in the half, converted on Baltimore's ensuing two-point try to give Baltimore a 42-35 lead with 1:51 left. 

"I didn't pull a Paul Pierce," said Jackson, who alluded to the former NBA star's bizarre exit during the 2008 NBA Finals. "I was cramping." 

Jackson, who threw for 163 yards while running for 124 more, completed four passes for 38 yards on the game's last possession. Jackson set up Justin Tucker's 55-yard field goal with two seconds left, as the Ravens left Cleveland with an improbable 47-42 win. 

"I was cramping," Jackson told ESPN's Lisa Salters after the game. "I had to get some IVs in me for the cold, and we came back with the victory. I was trying to come back. I was stretching. I saw what was going on. They were coming back."

Jackson, after getting treatment during the Ravens' first possession of the first quarter, was back on the sideline after the Ravens got the ball back with 6:29 left and trailing by a point. Jackson, who didn't re-enter the game until McSorley sustained an injury on the drive's eighth play, said that he was going to go back into the game regardless of the injury. 

"I was still coming in no matter what," said Jackson, who returned to the game with a wrap covering his upper forearm. "It's win or go home for us. We've got to win." 

With the win, the 8-5 Ravens remain firmly entrenched in the AFC playoff picture. They are currently in a two-way battle with the 8-5 Dolphins for the AFC's seventh and final playoff spot.