Why Lamar Jackson ‘Hates’ Playing Against Patrick Mahomes
Over the last couple of years, the NFL has had some young extremely talented quarterbacks emerge that have become some of the best players in the league. That has seen Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson and Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes headline that group on the field. That has also resulted in them having a tremendous level of respect for each other for their respective unique skillset. Although they have only faced off once in their brief NFL careers, Jackson has already garnered a sentiment that much of the league feels about the now reigning Super Bowl MVP.
Strong mutual respect between Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes
Although the two quarterbacks came into the league one year after each other, they have quickly developed a stable connection on and off the field.
Much of that is behind their stellar play that has seen them both lift themselves into great heights. Through his first three years, Mahomes has become arguably the best player in the league as he’s experienced a tremendous amount of success.
He has become the youngest player to secure both the MVP award and a Super Bowl in NFL history. Meanwhile, Jackson is coming off a historic campaign that saw him become just the second player to be named the unanimous MVP behind being the first player to throw 30 touchdowns and rush for 1,000 yards in a single season.
With that in mind, Jackson recently revealed why he doesn’t enjoy playing the fellow star quarterback.
Why Lamar Jackson doesn’t like facing Patrick Mahomes
Despite falling short of earning the MVP award due to Jackson’s remarkable season, Mahomes further cemented himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the league. He’s the driving force to one of the NFL’s most explosive offense that has guided the Chiefs to tremendous success.
The two faced off this season with Mahomes getting the upper hand against Jackson in a thrilling matchup. With that in mind, Jackson playfully voiced on Saturday that he doesn’t enjoy playing Chiefs star quarterback because of the high volume of scoring, according to Blair Kerkhoff of the Kansas City Star.
“I hate playing against him, and I am not even on defense. He’s going to keep score and now I am like ‘now we got to go score.’ It’s going to be a great game for the fans, but we hate it.”
That exact type of play was put on display during the playoffs as Mahomes had three straight comeback wins. In each contest, he poured it on with his play that led to the Chiefs being the first team to overcome three double-digit deficits in the postseason.
Jackson has shown he can more than hold his own offensively, but for him to state this after a historic campaign that saw the Ravens lead the league in scoring certainly says about Mahomes.
Bright futures ahead of Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson
Beyond there being a strong level of respect between the two star quarterbacks, they each possess a tremendously strong future ahead in their respective careers.
Mahomes has produced at a historic pace while winning an MVP award, and Super Bowl this early in his career is unprecedented. The 24-year-old has the Chiefs in a promising spot regardless of the type of lucrative deal he signs with the franchise in the coming months.
Meanwhile, Jackson is coming off a historic year that saw him do things that no other quarterback in league history accomplish.
Although the Ravens disappointingly saw their season end in the playoffs, it’s an opportunity for the 23-year-old and the team to grow and learn.
There will be plenty of focus on the adjustments that Jackson will need to make with opposing teams likely to take much from that postseason loss. He had demonstrated significant growth in his game last year; there is no reason to believe he can take that next step in 2020.
