Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson has established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and arguably second to only Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes. Not everyone agrees with that sentiment, though.

Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo told Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow last season that he believes he is the best quarterback in the NFL not named Patrick Mahomes.

“Other than our guy, you are the best in the business,” Spagnuolo said on Netflix’s ‘Quarterback.’ “I’m not saying that ’cause you’re standing here.”

Burrow has had much more success against the Chiefs than Jackson. He is 3-2, including playoffs, vs. Kansas City compared to Jackson’s disappointing 1-4 record.

However, Jackson’s accolades have been much more impressive. Since being selected with the No. 32 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Jackson has earned two NFL MVP awards, three first-team All-Pro honors and four Pro Bowl nods.

Burrow, on the other hand, has just two Pro Bowl nods and a trip to Super Bowl LVI, which the Bengals lost 23-20 to the Los Angeles Rams.

Jackson also has a better head-to-head record against Burrow, winning five out of the six meetings as their respective team’s starting quarterbacks. The Ravens won both of their matchups with the Bengals last season for a combined score of 76 to 72.

There’s no doubt that both players deserve a ton of respect from their NFL peers and are among the league’s best at the position. But naming Burrow as the clearly better player is wrong and should only add fuel to Jackson’s fire.

Jackson has thrived on his doubters in the past and he’ll look to do that once again this season as he hopes to help Baltimore finally get over the hump in the playoffs. Sweeping Burrow and the Bengals will only help with that lofty goal, too.