By Bobby Burack

Copyright outkick

Are we finally allowed to criticize Lamar Jackson? No quarterback in the social media era has been more hyped and protected than the Ravens’ quarterback. For nearly five seasons, commentators have shielded him from even the most modest criticism. Several television analysts have proudly embraced their fanboyism when supposedly analyzing Jackson. For background, longtime NFL front office executive Bill Polian suggested nearly a decade ago that Jackson should convert from quarterback to wide receiver before the 2018 draft. Sports outlets quickly framed the comment as racially charged, as proof that racism against black quarterbacks still exists. Since then, much of the media has elevated him as a cultural symbol for past transgressions. Those who put their faith in race have been sure to separate Jackson from the other black quarterbacks in the NFL. Former television host Jemele Hill recently argued that Jackson is not appreciated enough outside the black community. “Lamar Jackson reminds me so much of Allen Iverson. Allen Iverson had a lot of the same elements that Lamar Jackson has. He had the cool, he had the swag, he was different. He had tattoos, he had cornrows. And culturally, he was the people’s champ,” Hill told Dan Le Batard. “And that is Lamar Jackson. And so there’s a lot of people, especially a lot of black people, who culturally very much identify and relate to Lamar Jackson,” she added. “But for a lot of boardrooms, for a lot of marketing firms, for a lot of those people who make those kind of fancy decisions, Lamar Jackson is not their cup of tea. He ain’t gonna be getting a Campbell’s Soup commercial with his mama anytime soon. And that’s the shame of all of this, really — is that he’s a cultural phenomenon that deserves to be elevated and celebrated.” Swag, huh? To be clear, Lamar Jackson is a great quarterback. One could not, in good faith, list the five best quarterbacks in the world without including him. That said, he developed an idolatrous relationship with the media that does not exist with other players of his caliber. Even Nick Wright, who is far more aligned with the Dan Le Batards of the world than OutKick, admitted most of the media is afraid to cover Jackson honestly. “Lamar Jackson was so unfairly maligned at the beginning of his career, that now folks have an allergy to treating him the way we treat Aaron Judge,” Wright said last year. “Unbelievable, remarkable, historic regular-season player, who it’s not that he’s not the same in the playoffs, every single year is his absolute worst in the playoffs. Every athlete of my lifetime that has fit that profile is treated with heavy, heavy skepticism, except for Lamar.” And that continues to this day. Jackson entered the season as the favorite for NFL MVP, while the Baltimore Ravens were the Super Bowl favorites. Just four weeks later, the Ravens are 1-3 and were just blown out against the Kansas City Chiefs. Sure, the defense is decimated. But what does that have to do with the Jackson-led offense? Against the Chiefs, he threw for just 147 yards with two costly turnovers and a QBR of 36.8. The week prior, he disappeared in the fourth quarter against Detroit. In Week 1, he blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead to Josh Allen and the Bills. But Derrick Henry fumbled the ball?? Yes, and Patrick Mahomes has played most of the season without his top two wide receivers, and Allen is throwing the ball to a bunch of JAGs. The great players figure it out. Against the other top quarterbacks of this generation, Jackson hasn’t figured it out. He is 1-6 in his career against Patrick Mahomes, including a home playoff loss in the AFC Championship Game in 2024. He is 0-2 against Josh Allen in the playoffs. And yet, the narrative remains that Mahomes is “washed,” Allen “can’t get over the hump,” and the Ravens are letting Jackson down. To understand just how afraid the media is to scrutinize Jackson, consider the events that transpired Sunday. Jackson appeared to remove himself from the game in the fourth quarter with a “hamstring issue.” However, the CBS broadcast could not locate a play on which he was injured, trainers did not examine him for long, and a befuddled John Harbaugh admitted afterward he “didn’t know” if Jackson could’ve return if the game was closer. (Harbaugh predictably changed his tune Monday after Baltimore radio accused him of throwing Jackson under the bus.) Just imagine the scrutiny if Josh Allen — who an ESPN television show accused of not caring about winning without any evidence — had removed himself in Week 1 when his team was similarly trailing by multiple touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Instead, Allen kept playing and led the Bills to an improbable comeback. No other franchise quarterback would get the pass Jackson got Sunday. But, again, no other player is covered the way Jackson is. Here’s the truth: Lamar Jackson is a generationally talented quarterback who has repeatedly come up short in big moments. Maybe one day that’ll change. But just because he is a black quarterback, has “swag,” and Bill Polian had a bad take a decade ago doesn’t mean we have to treat him like a sacred cow. Are we allowed to say that?