A rival’s assistant coach makes a comment that could light a fire under Lamar Jackson.
#Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo to Bengals QB Joe Burrow after last year’s game: “Other than our guy, you are the best in the business.”
(via ‘Quarterback’ on Netflix)pic.twitter.com/Efe4najsSp
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 8, 2025
You’ve all heard that saying about ‘poking the bear’, right? It sounds like a pretty stupid idea. Getting close enough to poke a bear sounds about as asinine as it gets. Following through sounds even zanier. That’s been said to say the following. The Baltimore Ravens are the bear in this scenario.
We’ve seen jabs thrown before, but it’s difficult to remember a team as good as this one being disrespected this often. Training camp nears. The rookies report on July 15. Veterans arrive one week later.
In the weeks and days leading up to that, everyone is tossing around theories about what to expect. Rankings are extremely popular. Baltimore’s secondary earned the top spot in a secondary evaluation done by Pro Football Focus, which was cool, but PFF stuck the offensive line in the middle of the NFL’s pack with a ranking of 17.
No, seriously… What gives?
Then, there’s the Lamar Jackson disrespect. We know what you’re thinking. What else is new, right? At this point, it feels like Action Jackson can win the Super Bowl and two more MVP trophies, and people will still find something to complain about.
The Ravens’ star quarterback never has to look very far to find motivation. Ladies and gentlemen, we enter Exhibit A into evidence.
Yep! That’s Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo telling Joe Burrow he’s the NFL’s best quarterback not named Patrick Mahomes.
We live in a statistically obsessed football world. Simply put, the numbers don’t corroborate what Spagnuolo is saying.
We’ll use last season as a measuring stick. While Burrow led the league in touchdown passes (43), Lamar Jackson was right behind him with 41 of his own, but Jackson raised Burrow’s 201 yards rushing and two rushing TDs with 915 yards on the ground and four trips to the end zone.
Jackson led the NFL in passer rating (119.6) and QBR (77.3). Burrow topped out at a 108.5 rating and 74.7 QBR score. That’s partially due to Jackson throwing only four interceptions while Cincinnati’s signal-caller threw nine picks.
If you’re looking for a larger sample size or head-to-head results, Jackson has won 70 of his 94 starts while Burrow is hovering around just over .500 (38-30-1). In head-to-head matchups, the Ravens are 6-1 when both guys are playing in head-to-head matchups, although that does include a Week 10 game in which Burrow left early because of a wrist injury last season.
Burrow has beaten the Chiefs and taken his squad to the Super Bowl, albeit in a loss. Jackson needs to do the same. Both, honestly, have to be better during the postseason and win more consistently.
On a platform like this one. The following theory may seem biased, but let’s set aside our emotions and examine the arguments objectively. If we’re discussing the game’s elite QBs, Patrick Mahomes tops the list. Jackson ranks second. Burrow is probably third. Place a period at the end of that sentence.
