If perfect passer rating games don’t quiet Lamar critics, nothing will

As ridiculous as it is, critics of Lamar Jackson’s ability to throw the ball persist. You’ve undoubtedly seen and heard things like “he can’t pass as well as he runs” or even “he’s a glorified running back.”

One has to wonder what the reigning NFL MVP (he’s claimed this award twice, and he’s just 27 years old) has to do to quiet this specific group of haters.

Yesterday, he threw a perfect game, posting a passer rating of 158.3, the highest number possible, in the blowout win at Denver. (We detailed the statistical breakdown of how a quarterback achieves this milestone in a previous post.)

But to quote Alanis Morrissette, in the aptly named song Perfect: “Sometimes, it’s never quite enough. If you’re flawless, then you’ll win our love.”

After just missing a perfect game in Tampa a couple of weeks ago, by the narrowest of margins, Jackson achieved perfection yesterday. In doing so, he tied Ben Roethlisberger for the NFL record. They are the only two QBs to have tossed four perfect games.

And with Big Ben long retired and Lamar in his prime, it seems inevitable that he will eventually hold this record all by himself.

Maybe we won’t be subjected to all that nonsense about Lamar not being a great passer?

Probably not, as these people are just not reasonable in any sense. To quote that same Alanis song again: “We’ll love you, just the way you are if you’re perfect.”