Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson show mutual respect ahead of AFC title game
A historic AFC Championship Game between MVP quarterbacks awaits NFL fans. Those QBs for the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens aren't pulling any punches ahead of the matchup either. When both Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson took the lectern in front of media members on Wednesday, it was nothing but love and mutual respect […]
A historic AFC Championship Game between MVP quarterbacks awaits NFL fans.
Those QBs for the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens aren't pulling any punches ahead of the matchup either. When both Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson took the lectern in front of media members on Wednesday, it was nothing but love and mutual respect shared between the two NFL stars.
"It's challenging," Mahomes said of going up against Jackson. "Just the way he's able to be a competitor and just score the football, obviously. . . We've been able to play in a couple of games every few years now. I've admired him from afar and know that it's going to be a great challenge every time we go up against him."
Mahomes has played four games against Jackson since 2018, with each game presenting a unique challenge. Don't let Mahomes' 3-1 record over Jackson fool you either, as this game is shaping up to be quite the duel.
"He's going to be the MVP for a reason," Mahomes said of Jackson. "He goes out there and he leads his team. He scores, he runs, he throws, he does whatever it takes to win. That's what the greats do. It'll be a great challenge for our defense, but it'll also be a great challenge for our offense going against their defense. It's going to take a full team effort if we're going to find a way to get a win."
While Jackson may be on the cusp of his second MVP selection, he says that Mahomes has already done enough to be worthy of the NFL's greatest honor.
“I don’t like competing against him at all,” Jackson said in jest. “I mean, he’s a great quarterback, a definite Hall of Famer — it’s a no-brainer — he's definitely a Hall of Famer."
Perhaps Jackson would rather have an easier matchup ahead of him, but there is no better measure for an NFL QB than going up against Mahomes. Many consider him in a tier of his own. That's because he's the reigning world champion at the QB position and the one that everyone else has been chasing since his first MVP season in 2018.
"I believe (we're) just two greats, two upcoming greats, going toe-to-toe like a heavyweight fight," he said.
The result of that fight could come down to which of the two quarterbacks has a performance that can be distinguished as perfection. Anything less could make all the difference as these two greats vie for a chance to compete in Super Bowl LVIII.
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