In what was expected to be a thrilling Monday night showdown between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, Fox Sports found itself in an embarrassing situation during a preview of the game. While comparing the statistics of quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Brock Purdy, who are both considered MVP contenders, the network made a glaring error.
Fox displayed Lamar Jackson’s passer rating as 69.5, a figure far below his actual rating of 96.5. This mistake, a stark departure from reality, raised eyebrows among viewers and football enthusiasts alike.
Some propaganda here from Fox showing the wrong QB rating for Lamar Jackson. Jackson’s QB rating is 96.5 pic.twitter.com/oOB7l6XNnd
— Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) December 26, 2023
Brock Purdy currently leads all starting quarterbacks in passer rating, while Lamar Jackson holds the eighth spot in this statistical category. Had Jackson’s rating truly been 69.5, as Fox suggested, he would have occupied the unfortunate position of being the lowest-rated starting quarterback in the entire NFL.
This error was particularly perplexing given the significance of accurate statistics in football broadcasts. Lamar Jackson’s performance throughout the season has been nothing short of exceptional, and his actual passer rating reflects that. Such a glaring misrepresentation on a graphic was not only surprising but also quite a departure from the norm in professional sports coverage.