Bomani Jones Calls Josh Allen a «Moron» for Interception While Defending Lamar Jackson
Sports commentator Bomani Jones faces criticism for calling Bills quarterback Josh Allen a «moron» over a costly interception while offering a far more forgiving assessment of Lamar Jackson's similar mistake, highlighting an inconsistent double standard in NFL commentary.
Sports commentator Bomani Jones is facing renewed scrutiny after calling Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen a «moron» for a game-losing interception while offering a far more forgiving assessment of Lamar Jackson's nearly identical mistake just two weeks earlier. The contrasting reactions have reignited debate over whether the sports media applies different standards to the two quarterbacks, who were drafted in the same year and have spent most of their careers chasing Patrick Mahomes.
In a YouTube clip posted Monday under the headline «Josh Allen Is Still THAT Guy…», Jones belittled the Bills star and suggested the franchise had made a mistake by deciding to live with his occasional recklessness. «Look, [the Bills] cast their lot on the idea that we're just gonna live with Josh Allen and whatever he does, but that's not — I don't think that's what they're talking about,» Jones said. «Like the idea isn't and every now and then be a moron.» He then mocked the notion that Allen should be the MVP favorite or considered the best quarterback in the NFL, asking whether anyone still holds that view.
The treatment stood in sharp contrast to Jones' reaction when Jackson threw a similar interception two weeks earlier in a last-second loss to the Saints. Jones acknowledged that Jackson continues to lose games late, even with a new coaching staff, but quickly cushioned the criticism by telling viewers that Jackson «is a sure-fire Hall of Famer and all of that.» He then shifted blame toward the receiver. «I will say I felt like the way that Rashard Bateman reacted at that interception, it looked like he was the one that made the wrong move,» Jones added. By the end, he emphasized that while Jackson struggled late, «he looked awesome, awesome for three quarters.»
The pattern, according to critics, is not new. In 2023, when Allen and Jackson lost in back-to-back weeks at home to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, Jackson played considerably worse against the same defense and threw another game-losing interception. Yet Jones reserved substantially more criticism for Allen. Before the season, Jones also claimed the media held Jackson to a higher standard than Allen, despite considerable evidence to the contrary.
Allen and Jackson are linked in public discussion for fairly simple reasons. They were drafted the same year and have spent most of their careers chasing Mahomes. Allen is a white quarterback from small-town America who posted inappropriate tweets as a teenager. Jackson is a Black quarterback who was overlooked by at least one anonymous scout and, according to Jemele Hill, embraces his «people» like Allen Iverson. Jackson himself has never made his career about being Black; the sports media assigned him that role, and Jones is among those who insist on maintaining it.
The numbers suggest the two quarterbacks are not particularly close at this stage of their careers. In August, The Athletic asked 50 NFL executives and coaches to rank the league's quarterbacks entering the season. They placed Allen No. 2 in Tier 1, behind Mahomes and ahead of Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow. Jackson ranked No. 5 in Tier 2. A month earlier, ESPN surveyed league executives, coaches and scouts for a similar ranking. That group ranked Allen the best quarterback in football, while Jackson again finished fifth, a tier below.
The postseason gap is even more explicit. Allen has recorded 38 total touchdowns, 4,682 total yards, six interceptions, a 101.4 passer rating and an 8-7 playoff record. Jackson has posted 13 total touchdowns, 2,394 total yards, seven interceptions, an 84.6 passer rating and a 3-5 playoff record. The disparity raises a question about whom fans should trust: the coaches, executives and scouts who study film and personnel for a living, or commentators who increasingly filter the discussion through racial narratives and the social-media reaction those narratives generate.
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