Lamar Jackson Will Earn or Lose Benefit of the Doubt in 2021 NFL Playoffs

Despite what Lamar Jackson has accomplished through three seasons, he cannot escape old critiques while naysayers find new reasons to doubt him. Going into his third playoff game, the Baltimore Ravens quarterback will attempt to clear three hurdles while viewers pick a side between skeptics and believers. 

First, and most importantly, Jackson will attempt to win a playoff game. He came up short twice at home to the Los Angeles Chargers and Tennessee Titans over the last two years, throwing for a combined three touchdowns and three interceptions with a 51.1 percent completion rate.

Secondly, Jackson hasn't beaten Tennessee as a starter. The Titans upset the top-seeded Ravens in the divisional round of last year's playoffs and knocked them off again in a Week 11 overtime battle. Tennessee stands in his way Sunday. 

Although Jackson has rushed for 194 yards in two meetings with the Titans, he's completed just 48 of 88 pass attempts for 551 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions in those games, which creates a question mark concerning his playmaking ability. 

Can Jackson consistently lead the Ravens to victories with his arm? 

Aaron Doster/Associated Press

Last year in the playoffs, the Ravens trailed the Titans for the entire contest. And in Week 3 of 2020, Baltimore suffered its biggest loss of the season to the Kansas City Chiefs, who went into halftime with a 27-10 lead.

Because of the Ravens' inability to bounce back from slow starts against playoff-caliber opponents in big-time matchups, some pundits still have concerns about Jackson's skill set as a quarterback.

Bill Polian got the ball rolling when he suggested that Jackson convert from quarterback to wide receiver during the 2018 draft evaluation process. When discussing his concerns regarding Jackson's transition to the pro level, the Hall of Fame general manager described the Louisville product as being "short and a little bit slight" with accuracy issues.

Yet as a rookie, Jackson took over for quarterback Joe Flacco midway through the 2018 campaign and led Baltimore to the postseason. At the beginning of his 2019 MVP year, he took a jab at all his critics who thought he should've switched to a skill position. 

"Not bad for a running back," Jackson said after throwing for five touchdowns against the Miami Dolphins in Week 1.

Aaron Doster/Associated Press

In November 2019, Polian admitted the fault in his analysis of Jackson, per USA Today's Jarrett Bell.

"I was wrong, because I used the old, traditional quarterback standard with him, which is clearly why John Harbaugh and Ozzie Newsome were more prescient than I was," Polian said.

Polian's retraction didn't gain as much steam compared to his initial criticisms of Jackson.

Since 2019, Jackson has posted impressive numbers, throwing for 62 touchdowns and just 15 interceptions with a completion rate above 65 percent.

However, those numbers haven't erased doubt about his ability as a passer. Former NFL linebacker Bart Scott, for one, needs to see a signature win in the postseason. He spoke about his perception of the quarterback's limitations on ESPN's Get Up:

"He's been able to ... be effective with his legs and do what Lamar Jackson does ... I'm concerned with Lamar Jackson's lack of weapons and the inability to really beat teams from within the pocket. Until he does that, until he wins a playoff game, I think that you have to make sure that you pick up his option. But you don't give him the Mahomes deal. You tell Lamar, 'Hey we're gonna give you your Amari Cooper and see if you can take it to the next level because the league is gonna always continue to catch up."

Scott doesn't place all of the focus on Jackson. He thinks the Ravens need to do a better job surrounding their quarterback with high-end weapons, though the ESPN pundit doesn't believe the dynamic signal-caller has done enough with his current pass-catching group to instill confidence in the aerial attack.

Jackson hasn't racked up a ton of yardage in recent years, throwing for fewer than 3,200 yards in both 2019 and 2020. This season, he didn't eclipse 275 passing yards in a single game.

According to Pro Football Focus, Jackson struggled to connect with his targets outside the numbers through the first half of the 2020 campaign:

With a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17, Jackson became the fastest quarterback to win 30 games, but if he falters against the Titans again, many will see Tennessee as his kryptonite. Furthermore, we'll begin to hear more chatter about his playoff failures. 

Marcellus Wiley of Fox Sports 1's Speak For Yourself frequently points out the fact that Peyton Manning lost in his first three playoff games with passing numbers that were worse than Jackson's current postseason statistics:

Jackson set a high bar for himself with an MVP reign in just his second campaign. In a digital age when everything happens so quickly, expect an immediate reaction to the quarterback's performance—good, bad or in between. He's battling the trajectory of linear progress, though his trials and tribulations may include multiple setbacks.

Despite an impressive resume, Jackson wants to dispel the talk about his playoff shortcomings before it becomes a troubling trend.

At 24 years old, Jackson already faces a crucial moment in his career. Forget that he's only a third-year pro with several seasons ahead of him if he stays healthy; we'll come to a defining judgment Sunday.  

Proponents will typically give Jackson the benefit of the doubt in most games if he can pull out a playoff win following an anticlimactic finish to the season, but a loss would dim his light. While it sounds harsh, some detractors will render his regular-season achievements trivial until he's able to win in January.