Superhero Lamar Jackson has a Patrick Mahomes problem as he takes on this generation’s defining quarterback

This year could be different for Lamar Jackson.

But if Patrick Mahomes ends up on top once again, Jackson’s two NFL MVPs will feel even more worthless than they did in 2023, when the Kansas City Chiefs used the Baltimore Ravens’ M&T Bank Stadium as a triumphant spring board toward another Super Bowl trophy.

Mahomes is already a top 10 quarterback in NFL history and has annually worked with Andy Reid and Travis Kelce to create a modern dynasty in Kansas City.

Yet while Showtime Mahomes has become the heir to Tom Brady, Action Jackson has mostly failed when Mahomes has been on the other side.

Entering a 2024 NFL season kick off on Thursday, Mahomes is 3-1 against Jackson in the regular season and 1-0 in the playoffs.

Combined, the Chiefs leader has won 80 percent of his contests against the franchise face of the Ravens.

Last year’s AFC Championship game captured the divide that the 27-year-old Jackson faces in year seven.

He’s the premier dual threat in the NFL, scoring 154 total touchdowns and twice finishing in the top five in Offensive Player of the Year voting.

Jackson has also been significantly outplayed by Mahomes since 2018, and was a liability for Baltimore in a season-ending home defeat that set up Mahomes’ third Super Bowl win.

“He just really has remarkable skills and then it feels like when he gets to these postseason appearances … I would describe it as trying to do too much,” Kyle Goon, sports columnist for The Baltimore Banner, exclusively told talkSPORT.

“Trying to be a superhero in the game and just trying to overextend his considerable abilities.

“When you contrast it to what Patrick Mahomes does, kind of just enough to get the job done, makes the key plays when called upon.”

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After Travis Kelce trolled Justin Tucker during warmups, Mahomes completed 30-of-39 passes for 241 yards, one touchdown and a 100.5 rating.

Jackson barely completed 50 percent of his passes (20-of-37), threw an interception and a TD, and posted a pedestrian 75.5 rating.

The career head-to-head favors Mahomes even more.

Mahomes has Jackson beat in completion percentage, passer rating, touchdowns and yards.

While Kansas City’s QB has passed for 1,720 yards and 13 TDs, Jackson is 1-4 overall against Kansas City with 698 fewer passing yards.

Overall, Mahomes is 15-3 in the playoffs with three Super Bowl rings.

Jackson is 2-4 and will fly‌ into Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday still aiming for his first big game appearance.

“When it comes to the postseason stakes, Lamar Jackson really has to meditate on and think about it, because it just feels like when he gets to some of these playoff games he’s trying to win it all by himself and you can’t win playoff games that way,” Goon said.

The NFL intentionally scheduled the 2023 AFC Championship bad blood rematch to ignite a new season.

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With Mahomes chasing history and Taylor Swift potentially following the Chiefs all over the country again, Kansas City enters the 2024 campaign on top of the football world.

“The Chiefs are the big bad wolf of the NFL,” Goon said. “They’re just going around, stacking up wins and Super Bowls. and becoming the defining dynasty of this generation.

“Patrick Mahomes right now, even though Lamar Jackson has won two MVPs, he’s the defining quarterback of this generation. Andy Reid, even though he’s John Harbaugh’s mentor, is becoming the defining head coach of this generation.

“The Ravens just kind of need to get over the hump at every opportunity.”

Jackson has another shot to prove he’s the most talented QB in the NFL.

It starts on Thursday night inside Arrowhead Stadium.

It ends inside the Superdome on February 9 in New Orleans with Super Bowl LIX.

“Any game I play in, I feel like it’s a revenge game,” Jackson said. “I’m not just going to look at this game like a revenge game.

“Anybody we play, no matter if we’ve beaten them or lost to them in previous years, I just want to win.”

So does Mahomes, and thus far that’s been a career-defining problem for the two-time NFL MVP.

talkSPORT is your home of the NFL on UK radio – join us for coverage of the Season Opener when the Kansas City Chiefs host the Baltimore Ravens on talkSPORT from 1am on Friday September 6

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