As the NFL world waits with bated breath for the matchup between Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson to kick off the season, the Ravens QB has offered a candid perspective on his rivalry with Mahomes.
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During a presser, when Jackson was asked about what he learned from Mahomes’ game, Lamar responded that he had massive respect for the Chiefs QB but never needed to pick any ‘takeaways’ from the QB:
“I don’t have a relationship with him, I don’t think I have a relationship with any quarterback in the league. I don’t take anything, anything from him. You know, I just play my game.”
However, the Ravens QB acknowledged that Mahomes was a “great quarterback” who made “things happen on the field.”
In last year’s AFC championship game, Mahomes was able to make inroads in the field, beating the Ravens’ defense with quick passes to score a touchdown in the 1st quarter. After that, Lamar did a quick turnaround to level the score 7-7.
Mahomes was quick to return the favor with a second touchdown with the help of Marquez Valdes-Scantling and kicker Harrison Butker scoring the final points. However, the Chiefs’ strong defensive play was too much to handle for Lamar and the team’s offense failed to deliver.
When asked about thoughts on the game being a possible rematch of last year’s final and the hype around it, Lamar calmly pointed out that he’s “approaching it like any other game,” with ‘revenge’ not in his mind. He claimed that he approached every game with a winning mindset and the previous results didn’t matter.
Lamar might be trying to play it cool but his on-paper rivalry against Mahomes’ team has been the talk of the town.
Lamar looks back at last year’s game against Mahomes
Since 2018, the Ravens faced the Chiefs 5 times but were only able to win on 1 occasion. When Lamar was questioned about this record and its impact on his game plan, he revealed that his approach won’t change, he played every game to win, and “every game motivates him” equally.
After reflecting on the previous season, Jackson expressed that the Baltimore Ravens were “very close” to clinching a Super Bowl victory. He emphasized that his primary objective for the current year is to initiate a strong campaign aimed at regaining the form that brought them so close to success last season.
Last year, both the Chiefs and Ravens had incredible runs during the regular season winning the AFC West and North divisional titles respectively. The Chiefs will look to repeat last year’s success whereas the Ravens will play to even the score.
