Ravens' John Harbaugh rants against popular Lamar Jackson narrative

Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens may already be the greatest "running quarterback" in NFL history. 

However, questions about whether or not Jackson can win the biggest games of a postseason tournament with his arm continue to hover over the Ravens even though he's a two-time MVP. 

During the latest edition of the "This Is Football" podcast, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was asked how Jackson has improved since the 28-year-old entered the league as the 32nd overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. 

"From a football standpoint, just go to the most basic, simple thing: Lamar as a passer," Harbaugh responded, as shared by Liam McKeone of Sports Illustrated. "He is a historically good passer. That's really quite a statement because of the narrative that's been surrounding him since the beginning. Lamar Jackson can throw the football. He can throw it every kind of way. He can make every kind of throw any kind of way you want. He's as good as any passer that there's ever been, and I think now the numbers have proven that...Lamar Jackson, as a passer, is historically great."

It was assumed back in 2023 that one reason the Ravens hired Todd Monken as their offensive coordinator was to get more out of Jackson as a passer. Jackson became a two-time MVP in his first season playing under Monken, and many thought this past February that Jackson deserved to win the award for the 2024 campaign over Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

According to Pro Football Reference, Jackson and Allen finished the 2024 regular season tied for first in the league with a 77.3 adjusted QBR. Jackson led all qualified quarterbacks with a 119.6 passer rating, and he recorded a league-high 45 combined passing and rushing touchdowns (tied with Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals). Additionally, Jackson was second behind only Burrow (5,119) with a combined 5,087 passing and rushing yards. 

Per StatMuse, no quarterback has posted a better total regular-season passer rating than Jackson (111.3) since Week 1 of the 2023 campaign. That said, he tossed an awful interception and committed a costly fumble as he fell to 3-5 as a postseason starter via Baltimore's 27-25 divisional-round loss to Buffalo in January.

As of Thursday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Ravens and Bills tied as the betting favorites at +600 odds to win Super Bowl LX. Perhaps fans will get a preview of the 2026 AFC Championship Game when Buffalo hosts Baltimore for a Week 1 "Sunday Night Football" showdown on Sept. 7.