Lamar Jackson has put together a stellar 2023 season and is one of the front-runners for the NFL‘s Most Valuable Player award after helping lead the Baltimore Ravens to the league’s best record throughout the regular season. Jackson and the Ravens face a tough AFC Championship Game matchup, however, in hosting Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Lamar Jackson Dishes on Playing Against Patrick Mahomes
Jackson has found plenty of success this season and could be in line for his second MVP award in the coming days. First, though, Baltimore has bigger fish to fry.
The Ravens are aiming to reach the Super Bowl for just the third time in franchise history and the first since 2012, well before Jackson entered the league.
Doing so will require beating a superstar QB in Mahomes who has become a regular of the AFC title game and Super Bowl in recent years. Jackson was candid when asked whether he enjoys playing against Mahomes in what is shaping up to be a battle between two of the league’s elite quarterbacks.
“I don’t like competing against him at all,” Jackson told reporters. “He’s a great quarterback, definite Hall of Famer. It’s a no-brainer, he’s definitely a Hall of Famer. I believe it’s just two up-and-coming greats going toe-to-toe like a heavyweight fight.”
It’s a matchup that will certainly test Baltimore’s mettle, particularly that of its stout defense which has been perhaps the league’s best unit this season.
The Ravens led the NFL in defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA) this regular season at a whopping 45.5%, well above the second-place finisher San Francisco 49ers’ mark of 39.4%. Baltimore’s tally ranks as the fifth-best of any regular-season team dating back to 1981.
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Star linebacker Roquan Smith has been a crucial part of the team’s defensive success in tallying 158 tackles (84 solo), five tackles for loss, eight pass breakups, and one interception in 17 regular-season games on his way to a second straight Pro Bowl nod.
He did not pull any punches when discussing Mahomes, either.
“He puts his pants on just like any other quarterback,” Smith told reporters. “Yes, he’s an elite quarterback, but at the end of the day, we’re an elite defense. That’s our job, to stop the opposing offense. That’s our job, play in and play out, and that’s what we gotta do.
“I know I’m playing for the right reasons. I’m trying to punish (the guy) every chance I get,” Smith added.
Baltimore will have its shot to end Mahomes’ playoff run earlier than he has become accustomed to in Sunday afternoon’s colossal clash between two of the league’s heavyweights.
Time will tell if Jackson and the Ravens are up to the task.
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