Raven Country

Tale of the Tape: Lamar Jackson Vs. Joe Burrow

Two young QBs are elite.

Todd Karpovich

In this story:

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The AFC North is home to two of the NFL's most dynamic young quarterbacks — the Ravens Lamar Jackson and the Bengals Joe Burrow.

Jackson was the unanimous MVP in 2019 and already owns several records.

Burrow led the Bengals to the Super Bowl in just his second year.

Tale of the Tape

Jackson

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Seasons: Four

Passing Yards/Touchdowns/Interceptions: 9,967/84/31

Sacks: 106 

Rushing Yards/Touchdowns: 3,673/21

Regular Season Record: 37-12

Playoff Record: 1-3

Burrow

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Seasons: Two

Passing Yards/Touchdowns/Interceptions: 7,299/47/19

Sacks: 83

Rushing Yards/Touchdowns: 260/5

Regular Season Record: 12-13-1

Playoff Record: 3-1

Breakdown

While Burrow led his team to a Super Bowl in his second year, Jackson is a dual-threat that can change the entire complexion of a game. Both players have dealt with injuries over their young careers. Burrow missed six games as a rookie with a knee injury and Jackson missed five games last year because of an illness and a bone bruise in his ankle. 

Jackson is only 1-3 in the playoffs, but two of those losses came in his first two seasons. Burrow also gets more credit for his passing accuracy, but he has more weapons at wide receiver than Jackson.

Burrow played two of his finest games against the Ravens, throwing for 941 yards with seven touchdowns.

In the Week 16 game in Cincinnati, Burrow threw for a franchise-record 525 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-21 victory.

Jackson is 5-2 against the Bengals over his career and had one of the NFL's most iconic plays when he orchestrated a spin move en route to a long touchdown in the 2019 season.

Verdict: Jackson

Burrow had a great year in 2021 but Jackson is still one of the NFL's most dangerous players. 

Since his first NFL start in Week 11 of 2018, Jackson's 37 wins are tied with Josh Allen for fourth-most among quarterbacks, trailing only Aaron Rodgers (41), Patrick Mahomes (40), and Tom Brady (40). Jackson ranks seventh all-time in rushing yards (3,673) among NFL quarterbacks. His 10 career performances with 100 or more rushing yards are tied with Michael Vick for the most by a quarterback in NFL history. 

Jackson is the only player in NFL history with 2,500-plus passing yards and 1,000-plus rushing yards in a single season and he accomplished that feat twice in consecutive years. 

Jackson is determined to bounce back from last year's injury-plagued season and he gets the advantage in this matchup heading into the 2022 season. 

Published
Todd Karpovich
TODD KARPOVICH

Twitter: @toddkarpovich Email: todd.karpovich@gmail.com Skype: todd.karpovich Todd Karpovich has been a contributor for ESPN, Forbes, the Associated Press, Lindy's, and The Baltimore Sun, among other media outlets nationwide. He is the co-author of “If These Walls Could Talk: Stories from the Baltimore Ravens Sideline, Locker Room, and Press Box,” “Skipper Supreme: Buck Showalter and the Baltimore Orioles,” and the author of “Manchester United (Europe's Best Soccer Clubs).” Karpovich, a Baltimore native, is a graduate of Calvert Hall College high school, Randolph-Macon College in Virginia, and has a Masters of Science from Towson University. 

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