Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes praises Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, expects him to win MVP award
There’s a good chance Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is going to follow the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes as NFL MVP.
Mahomes, however, will do his best to make sure Jackson doesn’t help Baltimore supplant the Chiefs as Super Bowl champions, too.
The current and likely future MVP quarterbacks are set to play Sunday in the AFC Championship Game at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Ahead of that game, Mahomes was asked on KCSP (610 AM) if he’s been impressed with what he’s seen when watching Jackson.
“Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think everybody in the NFL (is),” Mahomes said. “It’s not just the running but just to be able to throw the different arm slots. To be accurate, throw it downfield, I mean, he can do it all. And that’s why ... he’s gonna be winning his second MVP, probably.
“And I think that just speaks to the type of player he is. He continues to get better and better. And that’s what we’re all trying to do in this league. And it’ll be a great challenge for us and we’re excited to go out there to their place and see what we can do.”
Jackson completed 67.2% of his passes this season and had 3,678 passing yards, 24 touchdown throws and just seven interceptions. He also rushed for 821 yards and five touchdowns.
Mahomes praised Jackson’s talent and his drive for success.
“Every time I’ve interacted with Lamar, he’s a great dude,” Mahomes said. “He’s someone that loves football, you can tell his teammates love him and you can see how he plays, that competitiveness that he has. And he’s had success at every level.
“It’s not someone that I text every week or anything like that, which I don’t do with most of the other quarterbacks, but I know that when I go into that game this weekend, he’s gonna have that competitive fire just like all of us, and we’re gonna try to do whatever we can to beat each other. And the best man will come out on top.”
For the second straight week the Chiefs will be on the road in the playoffs and enter Sunday’s game as an underdog.
“If you put the tape on and you watch the Ravens play, you know they’re gonna bring the energy, they’re gonna bring the juice, the physicality,” Mahomes said. “And we’re going to have to play our best football in order to win. And so for us, we just go back to making the playbook the way we want it, going out there and giving it everything we’ve got and trying to find a way to win at the end.”
This story was originally published January 24, 2024 at 9:06 AM.
