Lamar Jackson might just be one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks. The Ravens’ signal-caller has consistently been the lifeline of his team ever since he joined in 2018. He has notched two league MVPs as well, far more than most active quarterbacks. Yet, he still can’t seem to overpower Patrick Mahomes when it comes down to the thick of it.
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The Ravens currently stand at the top of the AFC North division with an excellent 5-2 score, with their only loss coming at the hands of the Raiders and the Chiefs in their season-opener. Additionally, with a 158.1 rating next to his name, Jackson hasn’t disappointed the team in any of the games this season — except when he goes head-to-head against the Chiefs’ QB, as James Jones iterated on The Facility.
The Super Bowl-winning wide receiver joined Emmanuel Acho, LeSean McCoy, and Chase Daniel on the show and spewed out one of his most controversial opinions on the mic. He declared that Jackson is what has been preventing the Ravens from overcoming the Chiefs.
“Lamar Jackson is what’s stopping the Ravens from beating the Chiefs. He in the wrong League. He probably should be in a different league because it’s looking too easy. But when Lamar Jackson plays Patrick Mahomes, I don’t see that Lamar Jackson. Lamar Jackson is never at his best when he’s playing Patty Mahomes.“
.@89JonesNTAF says Lamar Jackson is holding the Ravens back from beating K.C 👀
"We never get the best Lamar when he’s playing Mahomes." pic.twitter.com/ax7S87Q5QN
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) October 22, 2024
The former Packers wideout believes that Jackson is an out-of-this-world player but is nothing but inferior to Patrick Mahomes when he plays against the Chiefs, which might just be true if both their stats were pitted against each other.
So far, both Mahomes and Jackson have played against each other a total of 6 times in their careers. When it comes to the regular season games, Mahomes leads the series by a 5-1 score, and for the one time they met in the playoffs, ‘Showtime’ Mahomes is also leading that by 1-0.
Jackson’s performance this season in contrast to his game against the Chiefs
To put things in perspective, the Ravens played against the Chiefs in their season-opening game and Jackson bombed out, as predicted by Jones. At the moment, Jackson has an average of 9.1 yards per attempt, but he hit the lowest average of this season against the Chiefs when it was recorded at 6.7.
He was at his best just last weekend against the Buccaneers, recording a 77.3% pass completion rate and scoring 5 touchdowns. However, on 6th September against HC Andy Reid, Jackson’s CMP rate was 63.4 with just 1 touchdown.
It could be possible that a high-stakes game against the Chiefs puts more pressure on Jackson than usual. But there’s no denying that the Ravens would be one step closer to hoisting the Super Bowl trophy, maybe even more, if they were able to bear the mighty men in red and white.
Perhaps the 2024 season will finally be Jackson’s year. He is still leading the MVP conversation, just like last year. If he can carry his regular-season performance into the playoffs, things could be different.
