Rob Gronkowski Claims Lamar Jackson Is “Setting Himself Up” With His Take on Watching Beyonce Perform at Christmas Game

Netflix is really pulling out all the stops for their NFL Christmas games. They paid $75 million apiece just to acquire the rights to Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens. They didn’t stop there, however, as they enlisted none other than the Queen Bey, Beyonce, to perform the halftime show at NRG Stadium in her native Houston. She’s already got one confirmed viewer for that set in Lamar Jackson, and Rob Gronkowski loves the Ravens star QB’s tactics.

The two-time NFL MVP (who’s going for his third award this year) spoke candidly about his intentions during Beyonce’s halftime show. So candid, in fact, that the usually reserved Jackson had the reporter pool chuckling to no end. Jackson seemed adamant that he would, indeed “go out there and watch” the performance rather than stay in the locker room as usual.

“Because I’ma go out there and watch. Yeah. I’ma go out there and watch, man. My first time seeing Beyonce perform and it’s at our game, that’s dope. Sorry fellas… Nah, man I’m not even thinking about the lead, I’m just thinking about seeing Beyonce for the first time.”

While discussing Jackson’s comments with Up & Adams host Kay Adams, former NFLer turned pundit, Rob Gronkowski, jokingly praised LJ for playing chess, not checkers, in this situation. As Gronk sees it, Jackson has set himself up in a win-win situation by making those comments before the game.

“I feel like he’s clearly joking around, but he’s also showing his passion for Beyonce as well… He’s actually setting himself up. He’s a smart man. He’s setting himself up to where, now if he does sit there and watch Beyonce, he’ll be like, ‘I told you, I told you I was gonna watch Beyonce.’ So no one can get on his case. So I believe that’s a smart move, that’s a power play right there.”

As many in the BeeHive can likely attest, watching Beyonce perform is quite an experience. So it’s no surprise that Jackson doesn’t want to miss his first chance at seeing one of her spectacles.

There’s little chance that Jackson will actually leave the locker room to watch the show, though we’d expect them to get it on a TV set in there for him and his teammates. Lamar will be locked in on securing a win against the AFC South-leading Houston Texans.

Baltimore is still in a Wild Card spot despite beating the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. The Black and Gold men maintain an advantage in conference winning percentage. However, if Baltimore can win its final two games against the Texans and Cleveland Browns, while Pittsburgh drops one to either the Chiefs or the Cincinnati Bengals, the men in purple would be AFC North champs.

While he likely wouldn’t admit it, Jackson will probably also be thinking about closing the gap further in this year’s MVP race. Before last weekend, the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen was a -1,000 odds favorite. After a shaky game from Allen against a three-win team and an MVP performance in a victory over a 10-win team for Jackson, Allen’s odds have plummeted to -500.