OTL: Raging at Lamar Jackson Rage Bait…Just Like They Want Us To

We’re at perhaps the least active point of the offseason, but the narrative-pushing in the media never dies.

One of the biggest constants in media coverage over the past few years has been Lamar Jackson. Don’t get me wrong, Lamar gets his flowers from many – and rightfully so. He’s a two-time Most Valuable Player and a three-time All-Pro, yet, the scrutiny always somehow seems to stick around.

ESPN released a list yesterday morning compiling the opinions of executives, coaches, and scouts to form a consensus top-ten quarterback list. At the top, Bills QB Josh Allen. The lowest anyone ranked Allen on their own respective list was fourth. Right behind him: Patrick Mahomes and Matthew Stafford. The fourth-best QB in the league according to the list was Joe Burrow, one spot ahead of Lamar Jackson at five.

The lowest anyone ranked Joe Burrow was sixth, and the lowest anyone ranked Lamar Jackson was… out of the entire top ten.

I’m still a believer that Jackson, Allen, and Mahomes all share the 1A tier, plus maybe Stafford after last year, but Burrow? When you look at the entire picture, is there really any validity in Jackson being lower than fourth?

If you make the argument that Lamar’s lack of availability forces him lower, then fine, but how does that not also apply to Burrow? The Jackson injury narrative is also one I find overblown – he’s missed just four starts due to injury over the last three seasons. Over that same span, Burrow has missed 16. Statistically, there’s not very strong of an argument for Burrow either.

“When Burrow is on, he’s on. … But you have to get to the point that you’re available. … To me I don’t think you can have him in the top 5.”@tthasselbeck on Joe Burrow being ranked too high on ESPN’s survey of NFL executives, coaches and scouts pic.twitter.com/bZ3cS13gQt

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) July 13, 2026

It’s not just league personnel underrating the man with the highest passer rating in NFL history; the players list snubbed him too. The NFL Top 100 list has been revealed in waves over the past few weeks, and another portion released yesterday morning showed Jackson as the 69th best player in the league.

C’mon man.

Yes, the top 100 list tends to factor in recency bias more than other rankings, but a back-to-back No. 2 finish in ‘24 and ‘25 to a 2026 ranking of No. 69? Seems harsh.

No. 69 on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026…@ravens QB Lamar Jackson! @NFLFilms pic.twitter.com/ji9Vigok8u

— NFL (@NFL) July 13, 2026

Jackson certainly wasn’t himself for a solid part of the season, and watching him showed that, yet he still finished the year with the 4th highest passer rating among quarterbacks, behind only Drake Maye, Stafford, and Jared Goff. His yards per attempt were also among the tops in the league.

Though durability has always been a talking point due to his running style, the biggest Jackson criticism over the past half decade or so has been his lack of playoff success. He’s 3-5 in the postseason over the first eight years of his career compared to a guy like Allen who’s 8-7.

But let’s take a closer look.

The reason why Allen’s record is much prettier than Jackson’s? Allen has never made the playoffs and NOT played in a Wild Card game!

Allen is 6-1 in the Wild Card round, with the lone loss coming in 2020. In the Divisional round he’s 2-4, and he’s 0-2 in Conference championship games. Jackson, on the flip side, has earned his squad three first-round byes, skipping the generally easier Wild Card matchup thrice. Lamar is 1-3 in the Divisional round and 0-1 in Conference championship games.

When you look at it, is the playoff success really that different? Does winning more Wild Card games yet finding the same exact fate further in the playoffs make the guy in Buffalo objectively better? I think not.

If it weren’t for voter fatigue, Jackson would have 3 MVPs and Allen would have none. The man threw 41 touchdowns to four interceptions and had the fourth highest single-season passer rating OF ALL TIME, for God’s sake.

Trashing Lamar Jackson generates outrage. That outrage is warranted, but it’s still really frustrating to see these national outlets continue to go back to the same well.

I’ll step off my soapbox, for now.

The post OTL: Raging at Lamar Jackson Rage Bait…Just Like They Want Us To appeared first on Russell Street Report.

Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2026/07/14/out-to-lunch/rage-bait/