Lamar Jackson is being wasted by the Ravens, and it hurts to watch

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

How many times do the Ravens need to keep failing their quarterback?

Stop me if you’ve heard this story before: The Ravens still don’t have a receiving corps worth a damn, and Lamar Jackson is suffering again. Baltimore fell to 3-2 on the season with an embarassing loss to the Steelers in a game they should have dominated on paper.

In the pantheon of teams that should have stepped up this year it’s the Ravens who might be the most disappointing. This was a team widely believed to just be one good receiver away, before adding Odell Beckham Jr. and drafting Zay Flowers. This should have easily catapulted the Ravens into the elite AFC conversation, but that hasn’t materialized. In fact, their above .500 record has masked how much this team is underachieving — but against Pittsburgh they were exposed.

Jackson has proven time and time again that he’s a lethal and efficient passer when given options, but that hasn’t materialized for the majority of his career. This was especially prevalent on Sunday when only Flowers and Mark Andrews got NFL-caliber separation and gave Jackson any kind of decent window to throw.

Nelson Agholor has been mediocre his entire career and OBJ has been a total non-factor this season, but the real head turner remains Rashod Bateman. Ravens fans have been waiting three years to see him break out, and this was supposed to be the year it all came together. Instead he hasn’t been able to produce, separate, or be a difference maker as Bateman made highlight reels for all the wrong reasons after dropping one of the easiest touchdown passes you’ll see this season.

It wasn’t just Bateman either — though he was the lightning rod for much of the criticism. The Ravens as a whole dropped a total of FOUR touchdown passes with both Andrews (1) and Agholor (2) contributing to the mediocrity.

This all wouldn’t be nearly as frustrating if it didn’t lead to the continued tired evaluation of Lamar Jackson as a quarterback. Claims he “isn’t worth the money,” that he’s a “run-first quarterback,” or ludicrous lies that he doesn’t move the ball downfield. We’re now in the sixth year of Jackson’s career and he’s only even har one decent receiver on the outside: Marquise Brown — and this team thought it was a genius idea to trade Hollywood away so they could pick a center.

As good as Tyler Linderbaum is, he wasn’t worth the damage done to this offense. If this team had Brown, Flowers and Andrews right now they’d be totally fine. Instead they gambled on Bateman stepping up and filling the void without any evidence he could do it — and that’s blown up in their faces.

The Ravens cannot win in the modern NFL without receivers. Yes, that includes their three wins this season. It’s foolish to look at the three games the Ravens have won so far without noticing the mammoth asterisks they carried.

Against the Texans in C.J. Stroud’s first NFL game
Beating Joe Burrow on one leg by three points
Taking out Cleveland, who had to start Dorian Thompson-Robinson who threw three picks

These wins are sad, the losses are even worse: Getting beat by Gardner Minshew and the Colts in overtime, and now losing to the Steelers who got dismantled by 24 points by the Texans a week ago.

This really sucks. We should all want every player to reach their potential because it makes football better. The Ravens spent months screwing around with Jackson’s contract, daring another team to sign him as if he was expendable — while doing nothing to make this offense better and lift them to a point where they’re not just a one-and-done playoff team, but actually making an impact on the postseason.

Lamar Jackson is one of the most efficient deep passers in the NFL. His 69.9% completion while averaging 8.1 intended air yards is rivaled only by Josh Allen (73.1%) and Justin Herbert (71%) in terms of being accurate downfield. The big difference is that both Allen and Herbert have receivers who can maximize their ability to throw deep. Jackson’ natural long passing game is punctuated perfectly with his scrambling ability with his legs, and should be something any team can turn into consistent wins.

Somehow the Ravens have done a remarkable job to make their offense inconsistent.

Winner: Jared Goff and the Lions offense

It’s been too easy to ignore what Jared Goff has been doing for the Lions because of the larger narrative surrounding him. This offseason the perception was that he was the quarterback holding a spot warm, destined to eventually be replaced soon because he’ll never be a guy who can get his team over the hump.

What we’ve seen over these five games has solidified Goff was one of the most complete quarterbacks in the NFL, and more importantly he’s executing on Ben Johnson’s offensive vision PERFECTLY. Goff leads the league between intended air yards and realized air yards, always hitting the marks he’s trying to on the field — while also statistically outplaying juggernauts in the NFL like Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts and Kirk Cousins.

Goff gets the nod this week because of how well he dismantled the Carolina defense. Don’t get it twisted when it comes to the Panthers, because they’ve been a very good team defensively — particularly against the pass. In Week 5 they had some injuries to the secondary, but Goff and Co. absolutely obliterated Carolina through the air and turned in one of the most complete offensive performances of the year.

Johnson understands Goff’s abilities, Goff gets what Johnson wants to do. When this happens we see special things in the NFL (see the Dolphins), and it’s happening in Detroit too.

Loser: Sean Payton

Let’s be real: No coach in the NFL deserves to be fired more than Sean Payton. The Broncos were a sorry team in 2022, and he found a way to make them worse in every way, while flapping his gums so much that he’s gotten them trolled by the Jets.

Obviously there are growing pains for a team when it comes to adjusting to a new system, but Payton has written a lot of checks with his mouth that this team can’t cash. Ripping into the previous coaching staff, particularly Nathaniel Hackett in the offseason set this week up to really make a statement — and hoo boy, was a statement made.

Winner: The undefeated 49ers

Sure, I could also say “The undefeated Eagles” here too — but I’ll be honest, I’m not really feeling Philly scraping by teams this year.

Meanwhile, the 49ers are absolutely bodying everyone they come in contact with. Sunday Night Football against the Cowboys was a significant test, and they put the hammer down to prove they’re the class of the NFC and everyone else is playing catchup.

A huge part of this is the Kyle Shanahan offense, which is taking over the NFL now — but almost a larger part is how well the team is playing defensive as they’ve moved to Steve Wilks as defensive coordinator. Wilks has this team playing up to their potential in very quick time, and everything is clicking for this team.

It really feels like we’ve moved from “NFC favorite 49ers” to “Super Bowl favorite 49ers.” At least until someone shows they know how to stop this train.

Loser: Mac Jones

I don’t care that the Patriots have sad offensive weapons, because Jones’ passivity under center is making these players looks worse than they are.

Jones was 4-of-10 on passes that were down field 10 yards or more. There’s a chance he’s leaking his defense to the media about why he’s playing so poorly after being benched for Bailey Zappe.

This kind of drama is so unlike a Belichick team it hurts. This is stunning to see, and honestly I don’t see Jones turning it around.

Winner: Literally everything about the Miami Dolphins

For a young team like Mike McDaniel’s it’s far more important to bounce back from adversity than continue dominance. Getting exposed by the Bills was the best thing that could happen to the Dolphins, because they were able to get past a slow start against the Giants and find their gear again.

This Miami offense is absolutely beautiful. Another week with over 500 yards of offense, with De’Von Achaine being the most electric back in the NFL, and Tua Tagovailoa being the perfect quarterback to make all this click.

There are things you could certainly nitpick, but what’s the point? Fans should enjoy this high and it’s been incredible to see it all unfold. Team after team has no answer for what the Dolphins are doing offensively, and they’ll ride this until the wheels fall off.