This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes are generational players and two-time NFL MVP award winners.
Mahomes is a three-time Super Bowl champion, while Jackson is trying to quiet his naysayers after a few disappointing performances in the postseason.
The two quarterbacks meet for the sixth time in their careers when Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens play Mahones and the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL regular-season opener on Thursday, September. 5.
Mahomes has gone 4-1 head-to-head against Jackson, including a 17-10 victory in the AFC Championship game at M&T Bank Stadium last season.
Jackson and the Ravens want to show the rest of the nation that they are the main threat to the Chiefs’ title defense. A loss could be devastating to the Ravens’ confidence, and they could spend the rest of the season in the shadow of the Chiefs… once again.
“I don’t take anything from [Mahomes], I just play my game,” Jackson said after practice this week. “But he’s a great quarterback. I’m going to say that. He’s a great quarterback. He has the accolades to prove it, and he’s made things happen on the field that makes his team successful.”
Jackson promised that he would deliver a Super Bowl title to the Ravens moments after the team selected him with the 32nd overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He has yet to deliver on that pledge, which has added more fuel to his critics.
Meanwhile, Mahomes has led the Chiefs to three Super Bowl titles since 2018. He was also named MVP in all three of those games.
As a result, he has little to prove.
Jackson has 58-19 as the starter during the regular season and has also led the Ravens to the playoffs five times. However, he has gone just 2-4 in the postseason, throwing for 1,324 yards with 6 touchdowns and 6 interceptions for a 75.7 rating.
Jackson will not be judged on whether he wins a championship.
Mahomes, who is entering his eighth year in the NFL, is already a shoe-in for the NFL Hall of Fame when he retires. He is one of three players in NFL history, joining Tom Brady and Joe Montana, to have three Super Bowl victories and two MVP awards.
Last year, Mahomes threw for 4,183 yards and 27 touchdowns. The Chiefs had playoff victories over the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, and top-seeded Ravens en route to a second consecutive Super Bowl victory.
The Chiefs are the favorites to win another Super Bowl this season, followed by the 49ers, Ravens, and Detroit Lions.
No team in NFL history has won three straight Super Bowls.
The championships have added pressure because Mahomes does not want to relinquish being the NFL’s best team.
“Once you win the Super Bowl, I feel like, even to another extreme, when you don’t win it, it sucks even more because you experience the offseason of being able to say you are the champ and being able to experience all of the things and activities because you are a Super Bowl champ,” Mahomes said at a press conference at the opening of Chiefs’ training camp. “You experience the feeling of just winning the Super Bowl.”
The game against the Ravens is big for Mahomes and the Chiefs, who will unveil another Super Bowl banner before the game.
The Kansas City players certainly want to win their opener for the fans, but even if the Chiefs lose, they know they have the talent and depth to compete for a third consecutive title.
