Lamar Jackson says he wasn’t mad at the refs, denies telling them to “stop cheating us”

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson could be heard during Sunday’s game yelling, “Stop cheating us, bro!” while his team was at risk of blowing a big lead against the Cowboys. Jackson’s comments were widely believed to be directed at the officials.

But Jackson said on Wednesday that he was not yelling at the referee and was more disappointed in himself and his teammates than in the officials.

“I wasn’t mad at the refs,” Jackson said. “The refs are going to do their job — they’re doing their job. Whatever they see, they’re going to call it. They only got two eyes. They can’t see everything. There’s probably holding, there’s probably all types of things happening on every play. I was like, ‘Stop cheating us,’ but I wasn’t talking to them. I’m just talking out into the world. I’m playing football. I’m trying to win. That’s all.”

In the moment, Jackson sure seemed upset with the officiating, but with time to reflect he may have concluded that accusing the officials of “cheating” is unwise. But Jackson also seemed frustrated with himself and with his teammates (including Marlon Humphrey) at the end of a game that saw the Ravens play well enough to win, but continue to fall short of playing at the level they played at last year.