Patrick Mahomes vs. Lamar Jackson Is Ravens QB the real toughest rival for Chiefs champ

Patrick Mahomes vs. Lamar Jackson Is Ravens QB the real toughest rival for Chiefs champ

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Only one round of playoff football stands between the final four contenders and a trip to LVIII, which will kick off Feb. 11 on CBS, Nickelodeon and . Two of the league's top quarterbacks, meanwhile, will go head-to-head in the AFC Championship, with the Kansas City Chiefs' and Baltimore Ravens' headlining a marquee matchup of conference heavyweights.How did the star signal-callers get to this point? Who has the advantage going into the AFC title game? Here's a full breakdown:How are the QBs built? How did their careers begin? And how do they play the game? Let's take a look:QBTeamAgeSeasonSizeCollegeAcquiredPatrick Mahomes287th6-2, 225Texas Tech2017 draft (1.10)Lamar Jackson276th6-2, 215Louisville2018 draft (1.32)Mahomes and Jackson entered the within a year of each other, both widely viewed as dynamic but unpolished projects upon arrival. Neither QB nece sarily po se ses prototypical height for the position, and yet both have compensated for that shortcoming with unmatched athleticism, quickly emerging as premier playmakers.Mahomes, who threw a league-leading 50 touchdowns in his first season as a starter, often appears as if he's playing another sport entirely, pairing unpredictable arm angles with a knack for clutch and creative decision-making. His unique brand of reliable off-script heroism has put him on a Hall of Fame trajectory before the age of 30, making him the heart of an aspiring dynasty.Jackson's physical tools rival those of Mahomes, as evidenced by a Year 2 breakout that included 36 pa sing TDs and 1,200 rushing yards. Like his Chiefs counterpart, he won NFL MVP in his first year as a starter. He's been banged up more George Brett Jersey , with dips in pa sing efficiency, but at peak speed, with an effortle s rocket of an arm, he's arguably the NFL's top dual threat.Both QBs notably had the benefit of joining established organizations to start their careers; the Chiefs were a playoff team with veteran at QB when Mahomes was drafted, and the Ravens had a similar status with . But both teams have also been far more explosive, thanks to their unteachable traits, setting the stage for a high-octane showdown this postseason.Let's start with their :QBGamesYardsComp. %TDsINTsYPARatingRush YardsRush TDsPatrick Mahomes164,18367.227147.092.63890Lamar Jackson163,67867.22478.0102.78215Jackson was clearly the more efficient of the two QBs in 2023, which is a dramatic reversal of the norm for both signal-callers. The Ravens QB was always a fearsome scrambler, capable of scoring any time he reached the open field, but he improved as a decision-maker from the pocket under new offensive coordinator Todd Monken, threading the needle in key situations. Mahomes, meanwhile, has settled in as of late, justifying belief with another calm and collected postseason start, but he struggled to develop chemistry with a rotating cast of characters at wide receiver for much of 2023, sometimes pre sing to force downfield plays for a dominant-turned-sluggish offense. It's a credit to Mahomes, though, that even his ugliest numbers register as serviceable.Now let's expand our view to :QBGamesRecordYardsTDsINTsRatingRush YardsRush TDsPatrick Mahomes9674-2228,42421963103.51,93612Lamar Jackson8658-1915,8871254598.05,25829This is where we can clearly see the disparity in both reliability and skill sets. Mahomes isn't averse to moving the chains on the ground, and, in fact, probably remains something of an underrated scrambler, usually saving some of his best runs for pivotal moments. But he often uses his legs instead to set up something downfield, or "play" his receivers open. And it shows in his prolific pa sing marks; in just six years as a starter, he already ranks No. 39 among career pa sing-TD leaders of all time. His career pa ser rating, meanwhile, is the second best in NFL history, behind Brian Flynn Jersey only future Hall of Famer .Jackson's also had tremendous succe s through the air, sporting one of the best career TD:INT ratios of all time. It's just that almost 25% of his total yards come on the ground, where he trails only Michael Vick, and in all-time rushing yards by a QB. Whether such a dependence on rushing is sustainable in terms of playoff results, well, that's up for debate. But Jackson's regular-season record shouldn't be lost in the equation, either. In the end, both of these QBs -- supremely gifted, but in different ways -- have proven to be steady winners, shepherding different kinds of offenses to multiple postseason bids.How have the QBs fared in the postseason during their career? Have a look:QBGamesRecordTotal TDsTurnoversRatingAFC TitlesPatrick Mahomes1613-3438106.73Lamar Jackson52-38775.70Pitting Mahomes against anyone in this exercise is unfair. It speaks to the all-world status of both his Chiefs setup -- which has touted elite weapons like and , plus All-Pro defenders like and a future Hall of Fame coach in Andy Reid -- and his natural feel for the bright lights. Simply put, Mahomes and the Chiefs are the modern equivalent of and the , who forged a multigenerational dynasty, never to be counted out when it mattered most.Keep in mind that one of Jackson's five playoff starts came as a rookie, when he had just seven other NFL starts under his belt. That game, a one-score lo s to the in 2018, preceded a march to the AFC's No. 1 seed in 2019. Even so, it's true that Jackson is trying to shed the narrative that his special talent has not translated to big-game results. He has seven turnovers in just five playoff appearances, which rings loud in light of Mahomes totaling just eight in 11 (!) more postseason games.To Jackson's credit, the Ravens QB is coming off easily the most impre sive playoff appearance of his career, a 34-10 rout of the in which he completed 72.7% of his throws, scored four times and hit 100 yards on the ground, all while controlling the ball.Worth every penny: Jackson is, so far, Trevor Cahill Jersey living up to the hype that came with a record five-year, $260 million contract extension he signed with Baltimore last April. The deal is scheduled to keep him with the Ravens through 2027.Matchup history: Jackson and Mahomes have met four times in their careers, with the Chiefs going 3-1 in those games. Jackson's lone victory, however, came when Baltimore was the home team, which will again be the case on Sunday.Playoff brilliance: Mahomes is one playoff win shy of tying NFL legends , John Elway and Terry Bradshaw for the third most by a QB in league history. And he doesn't turn 29 until September 2024.Jackson has a chance to totally rewrite the notion he's not "ready" for the elite status afforded other top QBs who've seen regular-season firepower result in postseason stardom. He's certainly one of, if not the, closest QB to rival Mahomes in terms of sheer one-man difference-making at the position. But it's pretty clear that Mahomes enters the AFC Championship with the advantage, just because of his experience and historic playoff reputation. He is, again, the Brady of his time. And while Jackson and the Ravens are talented enough to unseat the defending champions, until that happens, No. 15 is the safer bet.
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