The record Lamar Jackson has long seemed destined for is now his.

With a masterful outing Wednesday against the Houston Texans, the Ravens quarterback became the NFL’s all-time rushing leader among quarterbacks. He dashed past legendary dual-threat quarterback Michael Vick’s mark of 6,109 yards. Jackson reached the threshold in 41 fewer games and six fewer seasons than Vick.

In the Ravens’ third game in 11 days, this one played on Christmas, Jackson tied his second best single-game rushing total this season and best since Week 3. Jackson entered Wednesday needing 86 yards to tie Vick. He was pulled early in the fourth quarter after notching 87 yards on four carries, complementing 168 yards and two passing touchdowns. Early in the third quarter, he faked a handoff to Derrick Henry and took off toward his right for a 48-yard rushing touchdown. He eclipsed Vick on his final carry of the day, an 8-yard run on the following drive, which ended with him throwing his second of two touchdown passes to tight end Mark Andrews.

It likely bolstered his resume for a third NFL Most Valuable Player Award. It definitely cements his legacy as the league’s best-rushing quarterback ever.

Jackson entered the league shouldering mountainous amounts of criticism. Some (wrongly) thought he was better suited to play running back. Every milestone achievement — rushing, passing or elsewhere — has been met with the years-old tagline, “Not bad for a running back.” After finally beating the archrival Steelers last week, there was an early Christmas gift sitting in the locker room for Jackson: a painted canvas with those six words.

Jackson earned the record in what is unmistakably his best season as a passer.

“I think as a passer he’s taken leaps and bounds from where we started in the offseason last year [around] spring training camp last season and then picking up where he left off,” quarterbacks coach Tee Martin said earlier this month. “Pass technique-wise, being more accurate at all of the throws at all field zones. We made a key point to work on throws outside the numbers, into deeper field zones, outside the numbers, post routes, go routes [and] things of that nature [as well as] on the run [and] scramble throws.”

It’s all been evident in his campaign for a third career MVP honor. And it has made the magic he can spark with his legs all the more valuable. Harder to defend, too.

The record comes two weeks after Jackson revealed his mother, Felicia Jones, gave him grief for what she deemed a passive rushing performance. Jones cussed out her son after a 24-19 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in which Jackson rushed for 79 yards. She thought he should have had more.

Now, no quarterback has more.

Not all former players are willing to pass down their records with such grace. Even fewer empower their successors. Vick has done both, cheering on Jackson with a smile.

“We knew it was coming, man. Like I said, you was the guy for the job,” Vick said, in a 2019 video message when Jackson broke his single-season rushing record (1,206). “Appreciate everything you do for the game.”

Then on a FanDuel show in 2022, Vick was introduced as the all-time record holder. He cut off the interview: “That’s temporary,” he said. “Lamar Jackson is on my trail!”

Two years later, Vick’s once unthinkable rushing total is squarely in Jackson’s rearview mirror.

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