Former Player Calls Out Ravens QB Lamar Jackson

Justified or not, the criticism for Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson in the playoffs keeps coming.

Jul 27, 2024; Owings Mill , MD, USA; Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) drops back to pass during the afternoon session of training camp at the Under Armour Performance Center, Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

You've heard this story before: another talking head has come forward to criticize Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson's performance in the playoffs. Daring today, aren't we?

This time, the analyst in question is former Super Bowl-winning wide receiver James Jones, who voiced his complaints on Fox Sports 1's "Speak."

"He's [Jackson] average at best," Jones said. "Are we keeping it 100? Lamar Jackson is one of my favorite players. At best in the playoffs, he's average... So he has to accept the criticism and go out here and make sure, 'Hey man, y'all think I can't do this? Watch this.' He has to do that. But the criticism is absolutely fair, because he's not the Lamar Jackson that we're used to seeing in the playoffs versus the regular season."

Just to speed through this, Jackson is a two-time MVP and possibly the most electrifying quarterback to ever play. However, critics constantly lampoon him for his 2-4 playoff record and generally underwhelming postseason performance. The most common criticism, though, is that he has yet to lead the Ravens to a Super Bowl after six seasons.

Just recently, Jackson shrugged off the criticism he's received over the years, stating that his motivation comes from within and not from whatever people say about him.

"I'm motivating myself because I know what I want to do at the end of the day," Jackson said. "Those guys have their time. I really don't care what the criticism is, what the critics say, because, at the end of the day, I just came off a season-ending injury the year before and we made it all the way to the AFC [championship game] in the new system [last season]. It's nothing to be down on myself, my teammates, or anything like that because we made it far.

"We're getting closer, I'll say that. We've just got to keep going, and God's will, we'll be there. That's our goal. We criticize ourselves more than anyone else, so what people say on the outside, that's just their take. They can believe what they want to believe but we know what we want. We know what we're striving for."

The only way to get the critics off his back once and for all is to finally win a Super Bowl, which hopefully comes sooner than later. Not just for his sake, but so we can stop having this "debate" every single day.

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