James Jones Pushes Joe Burrow to Seal a Playoff Appearance This Season: “I Can’t Put You With Mahomes, Lamar and Allen”

Former Heisman winner Joe Burrow has led the Cincinnati Bengals to just two playoff appearances—in 2021 and 2022—during his five seasons as the team's starting quarterback.

James Jones Pushes Joe Burrow to Seal a Playoff Appearance This Season: “I Can’t Put You With Mahomes, Lamar and Allen”

Joe Burrow; Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen (Images via People/Getty /MARCA)

Former Green Bay Packers wide receiver and Super Bowl champion James Jones recently stirred debate by stating that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow doesn’t belong in the same elite tier as Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen. Jones cited the Bengals’ failure to make the playoffs in the past two seasons as a key reason behind this claim.

After two straight seasons of topping their division, the Bengals took a significant step back in 2023, finishing fourth with just nine wins. They repeated that win total last season but still fell short of the playoffs, ending up eighth in the AFC standings, just behind the Denver Broncos, missing out on a postseason berth.

The Bengals selected Joe Burrow first overall in 2020 and the young gun led them to their first Super Bowl game in more than three decades in 2021. He has completed 1748 passes with a 68.6% completion rate and recorded 140 touchdowns while passing for more than 19,000 yards.

In his five years as the Bengals QB1, Burrow has played postseason only twice. His numbers are great, but he also went through two seasons cut short by injuries. Furthermore, he hasn’t won any major awards or honors like All-Pros or MVPs in addition to the poor postseason record in the recent times.

Jones took all these factors into consideration to make the staggering “not in the top four” claim about Burrow.

No All-Pros, no MVPs, and you’ve missed the playoffs two years in a row? That doesn’t mean (Joe Burrow) is not a good football player at all, but I cannot come up here confidently and say ‘Joe Burrow is still a top-four quarterback.’ I can’t put you with Mahomes, Jackson and Allen.

James Jones said on FS1’s The Facility

Joe Burrow poised for long-awaited MVP campaign in 2025

After years of coming close, Joe Burrow may finally be entering the season that puts him over the top in the MVP race.

Joe Burrow
Joe Burrow (Image via IMAGO)

Despite the Cincinnati Bengals finishing just outside the playoff picture at 9-8 last year, Burrow’s performance in 2024 still turned heads. He finished the season as the passing yards and passing touchdowns leader. FOX Sports NFL writer Henry McKenna didn’t hold back in his praise, calling the season “a fascinating demonstration of man vs. team.”

The Bengals nearly dragged Burrow into irrelevance, and Burrow nearly dragged them back to relevance. And Burrow deserved serious consideration for MVP. He was that good.

McKenna wrote

Now, with a fully healthy offseason and no injury setbacks for the first time in years, Burrow may finally be positioned to win the award that has long eluded him. He made a recent admission pointing out that he is more healthier than ever.

I’ve had injuries that kind of change the offseason mindset a little bit. This year I don’t have any of those, and that’s great, because I can focus on getting better all around and becoming a more well-rounded player.

Burrow admitted recently

On FS1’s The Facility, Emmanuel Acho explained that, in his view, Joe Burrow possessed the intangible “it” factor, saying that if a play needs to be made, Burrow will make it, and if a game needs to be won, he trusts Burrow to deliver the victory. The Bengals and Burrow will face stiff competition this season but the road’s more clear with quarterback troubles in both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns. However, the MVP race is expected to be as tight as the last season.

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