07/28/2025
MIKE BURKE
Allegany Communications Sports
With NFL training camp in full swing, and thanks to some really bad baseball by certain teams we know, it seems about right that we've had our eye on the upcoming football season.
Of course, at this point everything is just hurry up and wait for the anxious football fan, because at this stage of camp, we’re in what’s known as the middle of nothing.
Thus, talking points are necessary, particularly for 24/7 media outlets, and one of the talking points used to start every NFL season is ESPN’s annual poll of NFL executives, coaches and scouts that ranks every position player, position group and team roster in the league.
As all buzz NFL begins and ends with the quarterback position – as it should – this year’s QB rankings in the poll had the Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes No. 1, followed by the Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen, the Cincinnati Bengals' Joe Burrow and the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson at No. 4.
I am not alone in believing they are the clear and obvious Big Four right now and that ranking Allen, Burrow and Jackson in any order behind Mahomes is acceptable, although ESPN's Benjamin Solak said, "Lamar is closer to being above Mahomes than he is to being below Burrow."
The thing is, in this poll, Jackson was ranked as high as No. 1 but as low as No. 6, which just seems petty on someone’s part.
Allen was voted MVP last season, even though Jackson was voted the All-Pro quarterback after becoming the first quarterback in NFL history with 40 passing touchdowns and four or fewer interceptions in a season. Not bad for a guy who some still insist is just a running quarterback.
Jackson led the NFL in Total Quarterback Rating (77.3) and yards per dropback (8.3) and set new career highs in passing touchdowns (41), passing yards (4,172), yards per attempt (8.8) and touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Among qualifying passers, only Mahomes has a better quarterback rating since 2018, the year Jackson arrived, and only Mahomes and Allen have more combined wins in that time. And when it comes to running the ball, Jackson's 6,173 career yards on the ground are far and away the best mark of any quarterback.
He is by far the most electrifying player in football, so why are there still those who refuse to admit that Lamar Jackson is one of the elite quarterbacks in football?
It’s the playoffs, stupid.
Fair or not, Mahomes (duh!), Allen and Burrow have had more success in the playoffs than Jackson has, with Allen at seven playoff wins and two conference championship games, Burrow at five playoff wins and two conference championship games, and Jackson at three playoff wins and one conference championship game.
No, it’s not Jackson’s fault that Mark Andrews couldn’t hold on to the ball on two pivotal plays in last season’s playoff loss in Buffalo, and even though his most recent play in the postseason has gotten better – seven TD passes, two interceptions the past two seasons – he has struggled to control the ball throughout most of his postseason performances.
Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts, who was ranked No. 9 in the QB poll, has committed just four turnovers in his postseason career to Jackson’s 11. Conversely, the Eagles have reached more conference title games and Super Bowls than Jackson and the Ravens have.
Jackson’s Ravens teammate Marlon Humphrey said, “I’ve always felt that it’s not equal across the board. There’s 31 QBs that did not win the Super Bowl. But there’s only one or two that get blamed. I feel like Lamar is always in that category.”
It’s true. Lamar Jackson is a lightning rod for blame for whatever reason. There are those who are quick to say Lamar Jackson can’t throw outside the numbers (which is categorically false) but won’t mention Mark Andrews not being able to catch outside the numbers (Buffalo wasn’t his first).
That’s the thing about the Baltimore Ravens – when it comes to January, it’s always something. What will it be this year as the Ravens once again prettied themselves up over the offseason and are said to have one of the top rosters in the league?
Some pundits are even saying the 2025 Ravens roster is the best roster in franchise history, though I’d have to give that nod to the 2000 and 2012 Ravens who actually won Super Bowls.
The Ravens have won at least 12 games seven times, including 2019 and 2023 when they were the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. But to what end?
The John Harbaugh Ravens of recent vintage do the beginning and the body as well as, if not better than any team in the NFL. It’s just the conclusion that always seems to get in the way of itself.
Is that solely on Lamar? No, it’s not. But until the Ravens, beginning with Harbaugh and a defense that no longer forces turnovers, figure out how to close, it’s going to stay on Lamar, whether it’s fair or not.
Mike Burke writes about sports and other stuff for Allegany Communications. He began covering sports for the Prince George’s Sentinel in 1981 and joined the Cumberland Times-News sports staff in 1984, serving as sports editor for over 30 years. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X
