Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has accomplished a lot in his NFL career. A two-time MVP, he might just take home a third trophy for his work this season, which includes 4,172 passing yards, 45 total touchdowns, and leading the Ravens to a 12-5 record and AFC North title.
However, while Jackson has all of the individual stats to cement himself as one of the best players in the NFL, one thing that has alluded him in his seven seasons is a Super Bowl appearance. And so long as his Ravens fall short of that goal, a lot of NFL fans and pundits will hold that over his head, fairly or not.
On Thursday’s episode of Speak, Joy Taylor pushed back on the narrative that Jackson has the most pressure on him of any quarterback heading into the NFL playoffs. As she sees it, Buffalo’s Josh Allen, Detroit’s Jared Goff, and even three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes have more pressure on them to succeed this postseason.
.@JoyTaylorTalks doesn’t believe Lamar Jackson has the most pressure in the playoffs
“I think Josh Allen has more pressure. I think Patrick Mahomes has more pressure. Jared Goff has more pressure. If we were ranking them, Lamar would be 4th.” pic.twitter.com/OhHOrPvZdK
— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) January 9, 2025
“I think Josh Allen has more pressure,” Taylor said. “I think Patrick Mahomes has more pressure. Jared Goff has more pressure. I think Lamar is up there too, but if we were ranking them, I’d say Lamar is fourth.”
Taylor’s rationale is that Jackson and the Ravens have both shown so much progress this season, that takes some of the pressure off to prove themselves in the playoffs.
“The Ravens got to the AFC Championship Game last year,” she said. “When I look at great players and what they’re accomplishing, what boxes do you check? He’s won unanimous MVP, he’s gotten to the playoffs, he’s won playoff games, he’s won a second MVP. He continues to check boxes.”
To be fair, Allen might very well be under more pressure than Jackson. At least Jackson has the MVP hardware (though Allen might pick up some this year). Both Buffalo and Baltimore have been in the same position for the last several years, succeeding in the regular season and falling short in the playoffs.
However, the notion that Patrick Mahomes, who has been to four Super Bowls and won three of them, not to mention racking up two MVPs on his own, has more to prove than Jackson is absurd.
As for Goff, there is absolutely pressure for the Lions to justify their great season and recent success, but we have to imagine the media world will hit Jackson a lot harder than Goff if both fall short.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.