Warped playoff narrative is fueling Lamar Jackson disrespect once again

Lamar Jackson is held to an unfair standard in today’s NFL. No matter how well the two-time MVP performs each year, the media will always find a way to diminish his accomplishments. After another superb season in 2024, this remains true. 

Jackson is undoubtedly a top-three quarterback in the league going into the 2025 season. His sheer dominance every year proves he is one of the most unstoppable and feared players at the quarterback position. Every time he has the ball in his hands, opposing defenses hold their breath hoping he doesn’t make one of his Houdini-like plays. However, one stat continues to linger and frustrate Jackson supporters in quarterback debates.

Lamar Jackson continues to fall victim to tired playoff narrative

As we inch closer to the regular season, John Kosko of Pro Football Focus (PFF) ranked the 32 starting quarterbacks heading into 2025. Jackson ranked third among all signal callers, falling into the top tier, the league’s most elite at the position. 

Third would be a respectful ranking for most at such a talented position. However, looking into the reasoning, and one player in particular ranked ahead of Jackson, there’s reason for the 28-year-old to feel disrespected. 

Much of the reasoning given why Jackson falls short of the top two is his lack of playoff success. This recurring narrative is like beating a dead horse. In 2024, the Ravens quarterback seemed to put that narrative behind him.

He put up two terrific and clutch showings in the postseason. Yet, Baltimore fell short against the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round, where Jackson stepped up late and led what should have been a game-tying drive. While he had his share of miscues, it’s a team game, and Jackson should have shaken this storyline by now after his 2024 season. 

Sitting at the top of the rankings is Patrick Mahomes, a player who dominates the league every year and is putting together one of the most impressive NFL careers ever. Although it wasn’t a flashy year for Mahomes, the three-time Super Bowl champion always put it together in crunch time, reaching another Super Bowl but falling short this time around. Regardless, he deserves the number one spot.

PFF's second-best quarterback in the NFL could raise some eyebrows. Joe Burrow’s excellent 2024 campaign was playoff-worthy, but a disastrous year on the defensive side of the football ended the Bengals season early. There’s no debating that Burrow is a top-five quarterback in the league, but he shouldn’t rank second above Jackson and Josh Allen.

Yes, Burrow played with one of the worst defenses in the league last season. But so did Jackson for the majority of the season. In their head-to-head matchups, Baltimore's defense gave more than 30 points twice, but Jackson came out on top both times. Even with a struggling secondary defense early on, Jackson and the Ravens remained one of the top teams in the league. 

In a season where Jackson outdueled or matched Burrow in almost every way imaginable, there’s no reason to rank the Bengals quarterback above Jackson. But the playoff narrative strikes again.