Lamar Jackson expects ‘heavyweight fight’ vs. Patrick Mahomes

OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson laughed when asked what it was like to face Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the championship game of the AFC.

“I don’t like competing with him at all,” Jackson said Wednesday.

Jackson lost three of four meetings with Mahomes, his most losses to any quarterback (regular season or playoffs).

“He’s a great quarterback. [He’s] definitely a Hall of Famer. It's a no-brainer,” Jackson said. “I believe [it’s] just two big guys – emerging big guys – facing each other, like in a heavyweight fight. »

This is the first time in NFL history that two quarterbacks under the age of 30, the NFL's Most Valuable Players, will face each other in the playoffs. This is the seventh conference championship game – and first since 2020 – in which both starting quarterbacks have won at least one NFL MVP award before the game.

Sunday's game is also the first time Jackson and Mahomes will face each other in the postseason.

“I know we're going to play a lot of games like this in our careers,” Mahomes said, “and I'm sure it'll be the first of many.”

Jackson has the second-best regular season record for a starting quarterback over the first six seasons (58-19), behind Mahomes. Jackson is the favorite to win his second NFL MVP award, which would match Mahomes' total.

But Mahomes has what Jackson wants: a Super Bowl title. Mahomes has lifted the Vince Lombardi Trophy twice, including last season.

“To be a champion, you have to go through a champion,” Jackson said. “So it’s pretty much that mindset.”

In four games against Kansas City, Jackson averaged 187.5 passing yards, throwing four touchdowns and two interceptions. But Jackson has changed since he last faced the Chiefs in 2021.

This season, Jackson set career highs in passing yards (3,678) and completion rate (67.2%). He played his best against the best, beating 10 teams that finished with winning records, which was the most by any quarterback since at least 2000, when ESPN Stats & Information began tracking it.

“He’s going to be MVP for a reason,” Mahomes said. “He goes out there, he leads his team. He scores, he runs, he throws, he does whatever it takes to win. That's what big guys do. It's going to be a big challenge for our defense, but also a big challenge for offense versus defense, so it's going to take a complete team effort if we want to find a way to achieve victory.

ESPN's Adam Teicher contributed to this article.