BALTIMORE -- Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson established a new standard for running quarterbacks Thursday night, and in doing so he was congratulated by Michael Vick and playfully challenged by Tom Brady afterward.
Using his blazing speed to hit the edges, Jackson broke Vick's single-season rushing record mark by a quarterback on the opening drive of a 42-21 rout of the heavy underdog New York Jets. Jackson, the electric dual-threat quarterback and NFL Most Valuable Player front-runner, eclipsed his childhood idol with 8 minutes, 36 seconds left in the first quarter when he faked a handoff to running back Mark Ingram and ran for a hard-fought 5 yards.
"It's pretty cool," Jackson said. "My favorite player growing up. It's amazing, and I'm going to cherish that forever and just got to keep it going. Records are made to be broken, like he said. I heard him say that, and it's an honor for me to do it."
On a night when the temperature dipped to near freezing at M&T Bank Stadium, Jackson led the Ravens (12-2) to their second consecutive AFC North title, but not before achieving what many considered a formality. He entered Thursday's game needing 23 yards to surpass Vick's mark of 1,039 yards set in 2006. That record was shattered on Jackson's third run of the game.
The Fox broadcast cut to a taped segment of Vick congratulating Jackson.
"Lamar, I just want to say congratulations on making history," Vick said. "One of many milestones that you will surpass in your career. Best of luck in everything that you do. You deserve it. Keep up the hard work, and I'll always be rooting for you."
About 30 minutes after Jackson broke the record, another quarterback chimed in. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who has won six Super Bowls on the strength of his throwing, issued a tongue-in-cheek showdown with Jackson on Twitter.
Me vs Lamar, 40 Yard Dash on natural grass but he has to wear rollerblades. Who's buying the PPV?
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) December 13, 2019
Told of Brady's tweet, Jackson chuckled and said, "He's probably going to win that race. Rollerblades on grass? Oh man. I'm going to see what I can do. Tom still got a little bit in him. I've seen him."
Jackson celebrated what he did with his arm more than overtaking Vick on the ground. In throwing five touchdowns against the Jets, he now has 33 touchdown passes this season, which ties Vinny Testaverde for the most in a season in franchise history.
When he was informed of this achievement, Jackson's eyes widened, and he began pumping his fist in excitement.
"That's amazing," said Jackson, who finished 15-of-23 passing for 212 yards.
Here are other marks set by Jackson on Thursday night:
First player with at least 4,000 passing yards and 1,500 rushing yards in his first 30 career games in NFL history.
Sixth quarterback in the Super Bowl era with at least three games of five touchdown passes.
Fourth quarterback in league history with 30 touchdown passes and seven rushing touchdowns in a season.
"It's a special thing to be able to witness L.J. accomplish special things," Ingram said.
Jackson, 22, broke the record despite not being at full strength. He was limited in a couple of practices this week and was listed as questionable after injuring his quadriceps five days earlier in a 24-17 victory over the Buffalo Bills. Jackson ran smoothly throughout Thursday's contest, totaling 86 yards on eight runs.
What made Jackson's achievement even more special is that no one had gotten close to Vick's record, which stood for 13 years. Before Jackson began sprinting past tacklers, the most rushing yards by a quarterback since 2006 came from Russell Wilson, who ran for 849 yards in 2014 -- 190 yards shy of the mark.
With the way Jackson has run the ball this season -- from his spinning around two defenders on a touchdown run at the Cincinnati Bengals to juking defenders off their feet on a weekly basis -- he raced past Vick in the 14th game of the season.
Jackson earned the record, taking a hard hit from Jets linebacker Neville Hewitt.
"I was hot," Jackson said. "I just got hit on national TV. 'Oooh,' that's all I heard."
Jackson saved the ball, but there was no on-field celebration. When it was announced at the stadium that Jackson had set a new milestone, he didn't show any emotion. Sitting on the bench, he looked at the video board and then turned his attention to a tablet with quarterbacks coach James Urban.
"It's something that I'm sure Lamar will look back on some day fondly," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "But right now, he has other things to think about."
After the game, Jackson wore a black T-shirt that read: "The North Is Not Enough."
Winners of 10 straight games, the Ravens (12-2) can clinch a first-round bye on Sunday if either the Kansas City Chiefs lose at home to the Denver Broncos or the Patriots fall at Cincinnati. Baltimore secures the No. 1 seed in the AFC and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs if the Chiefs lose or tie and the Patriots lose.
"The Ravens are the AFC North champs, and we're very proud of that. That's a great accomplishment," Harbaugh said. "It's our first goal, but it's not our top goal."