-
Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff Writer
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Eight months ago in a 17-10 loss in the AFC Championship Game, Lamar Jackson was so infuriated after throwing a fourth-quarter interception in the end zone that the Baltimore Ravens quarterback ripped off his helmet and slammed it to the ground while walking to the sideline.
The reigning NFL Most Valuable Player has built a reputation for frustrating defenses with his elusiveness and unpredictability. Yet, when it comes to his clashes with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, Jackson has usually been the one left frustrated.
Heading into Thursday night’s rematch with the Chiefs (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC), Jackson can’t even the score by beating the two-time defending Super Bowl champions. But a victory in the season opener for Jackson could start to change the narrative that Mahomes has become his roadblock.
Jackson is 1-4 against Mahomes, which is tied for the fifth most lopsided rivalry between MVP award-winning quarterbacks who’ve played each other at least five times.
“I’m not just going to look at this game like it’s a revenge game,” Jackson said. “Anybody we’ve played, no matter if we’ve beat them or lost to them in previous years, I just want to win.”
The success of Mahomes and Jackson has led some to think this could be the next Brady-Manning rivalry. At this stage, Mahomes vs. Jackson has been more uneven than epic.
Jackson’s four losses against Kansas City are his most against any team. Other than Mahomes, no quarterback has beaten Jackson more than twice.
“I’m sure [that] any time you lose against anyone, there’s going to be extra motivation,” Ravens middle linebacker Roquan Smith said. “I have all my faith in Lamar. He’s the leader of this team, and [we know] that he’s going to lead us exactly where we want to go, at the end of the day, and all we can do is continue to support him.”
Jackson has been one of the most successful quarterbacks in the NFL, surpassing Mahomes in February to become the youngest two-time MVP (age 27) since the merger. As a dual-threat playmaker, Jackson has led the Ravens to the best regular-season record in the league twice in his first six seasons (14-2 in 2019, 13-4 in 2023).
When competing against other top quarterbacks, Jackson has usually come out on top. He won both of his meetings against Tom Brady. He’s beaten Joe Burrow four out of five times.
But he’s struggled to outduel Mahomes. Jackson’s first loss as a starter was a 27-24 defeat in Kansas City in Week 14 of the 2018 season, when he was knocked out of the game in overtime with an ankle injury. In 2020, after Jackson’s third straight loss to the Chiefs, he called them “our kryptonite.”
In January, Jackson was stopped one game short of reaching his first Super Bowl when the Chiefs held him to 10 points or less for just the fourth time in his 83-game career.
“Whenever anybody loses to anybody — it doesn’t matter who it is — you kind of want to get back at that person and want to prove [that], ‘We can beat them, too,'” Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton said. “I think Lamar has the same mindset that I have [and] that everybody in the building has — we’re trying to go in there on Thursday and get a win.”
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN Mahomes and Jackson can be measured by the smallest of margins.
Mahomes set the tone in the AFC Championship Game in the first quarter: He completed an improbable back-shoulder 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce, who had a half-yard separation on Hamilton, for the first score of the game.
“Nobody does it like Patrick Mahomes does it in terms of the style of it,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “He is his own guy in terms of the way he plays. How quick the ball comes out on the ones on the get-it-outs and how long he’ll take — as long as necessary — to try to find a completion.”
TRAVIS KELCE BACK-SHOULDER TD 😱
(via @chiefs)pic.twitter.com/gdF4ix8pX8
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 28, 2024
Thursday will be advertised as a historic night of superstar quarterbacks. This will mark the first showdown between players with multiple MVP awards under the age of 30.
Against Kansas City, Jackson has stumbled to create plays against a defense that unleashes heavy blitzes and takes away his top target in tight end Mark Andrews. He has recorded five passing touchdowns and three interceptions for a 53 QBR against the Chiefs.
Mahomes, meanwhile, uses his accuracy to find cracks in Baltimore’s defense. There have been perfectly placed long throws to the end zone and off-balance precise passes against the grain. Mahomes has thrown 13 touchdowns and two interceptions for a 86.2 QBR against the Ravens, who in 2023 became the first team in history to lead the league in fewest points allowed (16.5), most sacks (60) and most takeaways (tied for first at 31) in the same season.
“He’s a great quarterback,” Jackson said. “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.”
To change his fortune against Mahomes, Jackson can look to another historic rivalry.
“They’re definitely two of the top quarterbacks in this league,” Ravens fullback Pat Ricard said. “It’s kind of a Brady-Manning type of deal.”
Peyton Manning lost his first six head-to-head meetings against Brady before winning the next three. He defeated Brady twice in 2006 — in Week 9 and the AFC Championship Game — on his way to his first Super Bowl. Brady finished with a 11-6 record against Manning, but Manning won six of the last 11 matchups.
“I think more than athletic ability and ability to throw is the way he competes,” Mahomes said about Jackson. “I mean, he’s a guy that competes every single week. You can tell he cares. You can tell he wants to go out there and win and he wants to put it on his shoulders to take his team to where they can win as many games as possible. And I think that’s something that’s truly what it really takes to be a great quarterback in this league.
“It’s not always about talent. It’s about can you go out there and compete every single week and find ways to, whenever you don’t have your best stuff, your team doesn’t have your best stuff, you find ways to win football games that way.”
IN THE AFC Championship Game, Jackson dazzled the football world by completing a 13-yard pass — to himself. After his throw was tipped at the line of scrimmage, Jackson ran under it and had a path to the end zone.
It was a moment that led Jackson to winning an ESPY for “Best Play.” But Jackson didn’t like the play.
He was tackled from behind by Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill, turning what could have been an 82-yard touchdown into a modest gain. It caused Jackson to drop 15 pounds this offseason.
“My eyes may be deceiving me, but I believe I looked a little slower to me,” Jackson said, “but not now.”
LAMAR JACKSON DID IT ALL ON THIS PLAY 🔥 @Lj_era8 wins the ESPYS Best Play with his remarkable moment vs. the Kansas City Chiefs 🙌 pic.twitter.com/kMNdosrCej
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 12, 2024
Since becoming the Ravens’ starter midway through the 2018 season, Jackson is tied with Mahomes for the best win percentage in the regular season. Jackson is 58-19 (.753), and Mahomes is 64-21 (.753).
The difference comes in the postseason. Mahomes is 15-3 in the playoffs, winning three Super Bowls. Jackson is 2-4 in the postseason and has never reached a Super Bowl.
“We have to go into every game trying to make the playoffs,” Jackson said. “Playoffs are on our mind, but at the same time, we have to win this game that’s ahead of us.”
The Ravens have undergone change since the AFC Championship Game. Jackson will line up behind a revamped offensive line, which features three new starters. Baltimore signed running back Derrick Henry, becoming the first All-Pro to share the backfield with Jackson.
But, if Jackson wants to reach his ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl, he will likely need to figure out a way to get through Mahomes and the Chiefs.
“He’s always finding a way to elevate himself and his game,” Andrews said. “It’s just a complete package of taking control of this offense [and] telling everybody what he wants to be done. He’s been extremely vocal about that, which I think has been amazing for everybody, and that goes back to all of us being on the same page. He’s got that down really, really well right now, and guys are bought in. So, we’re going to be tested [Thursday], and I hope it shows.”
ESPN reporter Adam Teicher contributed to this report.