NFL
What did Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson say about each other before Chiefs-Ravens AFC Championship Game?
Opposing quarterbacks Mahomes and Baltimore exchanged compliments before meeting for the fifth time at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday 28 January.
The Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs will fight it out for a place at Super Bowl LVIII in the AFC Championship Game at M&T Bank Stadium in Maryland on Sunday (28 January).
Opposing quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes, who have both won the NFL MVP Award in previous years, are expected to be two of the stars of the show and have had nothing but praise for one another ahead of their meeting.
Jackson: Mahomes “definitely a Hall of Famer”
“I don’t like competing against him at all,” Jackson joked when asked about Mahomes. “He’s a great quarterback, definitely a Hall of Famer, it’s a no-brainer. I believe it’s just two greats, up-and-coming greats, just going toe to toe, like a heavyweight fight. A heavyweight match-up, that’s what I see.”
Mahomes tips Jackson for MVP, praises improvement
Mahomes also spoke to the press on Wednesday and returned the compliments received with interest: “He’s gonna be the MVP for a reason. He goes out there, he leads his team. He scores, he runs, he throws, he does whatever it takes to win and that’s what the greats do. It’ll be a great challenge for our defense.
The 28-year-old Chiefs star continued: “The biggest thing that you like to see in another quarterback is how they improve every single year. Obviously, everybody talks about his running, but you can see how he’s developed as a passer, throwing from within the pocket, arm angles, making the accurate throw in big situations in big moments, and that’s what the great quarterbacks do. He continues to get better and better every single year.”
Previous meetings between Mahomes’ Chiefs and Jackson’s Ravens
Jackson and Mahomes have played against each other on four occasions, all during the regular season, with the Chiefs quarterback leading 3-1. This weekend will be their first meeting in the playoffs.
In 2018, when Jackson was playing his rookie season and Mahomes his first as the Chiefs’ starting starting quarterback, Kansas City won 27-24 at Arrowhead Stadium thanks to a field goal in overtime from Harrison Butker.
The following year, they again faced each other in Missouri and again the Chiefs came out on top, this time 33-28 as the Ravens’ late comeback came up short. Jackson attempted more passes (43) than any other regular-season game in his career.
Mahomes made it three in a row in 2022, throwing for four touchdowns and rushing another as the Chiefs posted a comfortable 34-20 win at M&T Bank Stadium.
Jackson finally got the better of his counterpart in their last meeting in 2021, with coach John Harbaugh’s bold strategy leading the Ravens to a slender 36-35 victory in Baltimore. The two quarterbacks were responsible for six of the 10 touchdowns.
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