Chiefs vs Ravens: Mahomes and Jackson are set to reignite a rivalry equivalent to Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning
Some rivalries are evergreen. Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier, the Los Angeles Lakers vs the Boston Celtics, the Boston Red Sox vs the New York Yankees...
In the NFL, there is that stoked rivalry between the 49ers and Rams, the Ravens vs Steelers and when the Chiefs faced the Raiders. Should we narrow this down even further, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning were the names that popped into people's heads when it came to debating who was the best quarterback and their decorated rivalry.
And now, it looks like there is a new Brady vs Manning rivalry in the form of Patrick Mahomes vs Lamar Jackson. Two immensely talented QBs playing for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens respectively. While one has won the Super Bowl, the other is promising and heavy on potential. The duo has won the MVP each and they square off on Monday, September 28, when the Chiefs take on the Ravens, expect nothing short of explosive action.
For those who feel it is too early to make the call, their contrasting styles of play and meteoric rise in the sport so far says it all. They are hungry to win and they hate losing. If it's Mahomes arm that does it for him, Jackson's an astute playmaker. Rollback the years when Brady and Manning played against each other. While Brady did win a major chunk of these games (11 off their 17) and continued his early dominance, Manning had his own share of wins and each of them was memorable. Between 2001 and 2004, the duo faced-off against each other five times and Brady won all these encounters.
November 2005 saw Manning take the win. When his side took on the New England Patriots, his 321 yards, three TDs, and a 117.1 QB rating were integral in beating the Pats 40-21. He repeated the feat again a year later. Both QBs met five times in the NFL Playoffs, in which Manning won three of them. While Mahomes and Jackson haven't played that long in their careers and have met twice. In 2018, The Chiefs took the win and they outplayed the Ravens again in 2019.
According to the Baltimoreraven's John Eisenberg, Jackson was keen to shrug off the losses. "Those two losses definitely make me mad, but it is what it is. Move on. We've got them again this year," he said in one of his previous interviews on the team site. "I don't really care for rivalries or thinking about another quarterback. I play offense, he plays offense. We've got to worry about each other's defenses." That said, when both these players will meet at the M&T Bank Stadium and spark off a battle, it will surely be the start of another great rivalry.
Jackson can take heart from the fact the game will be on the Raven's home turf. Add to it a better defense this time around with the likes of Calais Campbell, Marcus Peters, Patrick Queen. With these men in its ranks, Baltimore will be optimistic about pulling off a win over the defending champions. For now, the hype between the two is the real deal. Monday's scrimmage will just be the start.
Here's a quick primer:
Kansas City Chiefs vs Baltimore Ravens
When: Monday, September 28, 2020
Time: 8:15 PM ET/ 5.15 PM ET
Where: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD
Watch: ESPN
Listen to the live commentary: NFL Game Pass, Westwood One, and Sirius XM
