The Baltimore Ravens suffered another postseason disappointment in 2024, falling to the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs despite another MVP-caliber season from superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson. The success of the 2025 season will rest largely on Jackson's shoulders once more and his head coach believes he has elevated into a historic category as a passer at this point in his career.
Speaking to ESPN's Kevin Clark for This Is Football, Ravens HC John Harbaugh was asked where Jackson has grown the most in his game since he came to Baltimore in 2018. Harbaugh zeroed in on the quarterback's passing ability and said Jackson is now a "historically great" passer.
"From a football standpoint, just go to the most basic, simple thing: Lamar as a passer," Harbaugh said. "He is a historically good passer. That's really quite a statement because of the narrative that's been surrounding him since the beginning. Lamar Jackson can throw the football. He can throw it every kind of way, he can make every kind of throw any kind of way you want. He's as good as any passer that there's ever been and I think now the numbers have proven that... Lamar Jackson, as a passer, is historically great."
Incredible This Is Football interview with John Harbaugh. I asked him where Lamar Jackson has grown the most in his game and he detailed his "historic" passing.
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) July 31, 2025
"He is as good as any passer that there's ever been and now the numbers have proven that."
(Psst. He's right). pic.twitter.com/iJsHrw2JGk
As Harbaugh references in his answer, Jackson's passing ability was long a question mark surrounding his game from the perception of fans and analysts. Coming out of Louisville everybody knew he was tremendous with the football in his hands but the narrative about his passing persisted to the point where people were wondering aloud if he shouldn't shift to wide receiver or running back in the NFL.
Safe to say he's quashed all that. Jackson has thrown for over 3,500 yards in each of the last two seasons and crested the 4,000-yard mark for the first time in 2024. The lack of a championship serves as a glaring wart on his resume and will continue to do so until he wins the big one but Jackson's two MVP awards should be more than enough to prove he's easily one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and one of the most talented fans have ever seen.
On the historic front, Harbaugh is not wrong. Jackson holds several NFL passing records, including: most games with a perfect passer rating, most perfect passer ratings in a season, youngest quarterback to achieve a perfect passer rating, and the highest completion percentage in a game attempting 40 or more passes. He's also the only QB to ever throw for over 4,000 yards and rush for 800.
Jackson's talents will return to the field in September when the 2025 NFL season kicks off.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as John Harbaugh Calls Lamar Jackson a 'Historically Great' Passer.