Ravens’ Lamar Jackson Fires Bold Statement at Patriots’ Tom Brady

Lamar Jackson, Tom Bray

Getty Lamar Jackson bested Tom Brady in Week 9.

Lamar Jackson clearly isn’t afraid of Tom Brady.

After the second-year quarterback outdueled the six-time Super Bowl champion in the Baltimore Ravens‘ 37-20 victory over the New England Patriots in Week 9, the 22-year-old quarterback had a bold message for the G.O.A.T. — he’ll see him in the playoffs.

“I know we’re going to see him again, so we’ve just got to prepare,” Jackson said per NFL.com’s Jeremy Bergman. “Like I said, I didn’t care who I was playing against, you know? Tom Brady, the G.O.A.T. of all G.O.A.T.s, six Super Bowls, 20 years doing it, the guy’s still playing like he’s a second-year player, a third-year player like he’s a young guy in the league and still you can’t take nothing from him. It was crazy.”

Obviously, the Ravens and Patriots don’t play in the same division so they won’t be playing each other again in the regular season. That means Jackson is predicting a rematch with Brady and the Patriots in the postseason.

And while we’re only halfway through the season, the fact of the matter is that the Patriots and Ravens are the top two seeds in the conference. In other words, if they do enter the playoffs as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, they’re on a crash course to meet in the AFC Championship Game.


Jackson’s Rivalry with Brady a ‘Friendly’ One

And just so we’re clear, Jackson wasn’t trash-talking Brady. The two quarterbacks — despite their 20-year age difference — share a mutual respect for one another.

Brady even sought out Jackson before the start of their game and told him that he was a big fan of the young quarterback.

After a 21-game winning streak against first-year and second-year quarterbacks, the Patriots finally succumbed to a second-year QB in Jackson.

Jackson’s final stat line looked like this: 17-of-23 for 163 yards, one touchdown, no turnovers and a 107.7 quarterback rating.

On the other hand, Brady’s final stat line looked like this: 30-of-46 for 285 yards, one touchdown, one interception for 6.2 yards per attempt, two sacks and an 80.4 quarterback rating.

We’ll see if Jackson can best the G.O.A.T if the Ravens and Patriots really do match up in the playoffs again.


Is Tom Brady Slowing Down?

Following the second-worst performance of the season for the 42-year-old quarterback, ESPN analysts had a field day debating whether or not Brady has reached the end of the road.

Max Kellerman was blunt about it when he stated that all Brady does at this stage of his career is “dink-and-dunk” it.

“It was incumbent upon Brady to put some points on the board, and he couldn’t do it. I’ve said he’s dinking and dunking more than ever last year, but this year it’s even more apparent. Tom Brady can’t win you a game like this. It’s Brady I’d be concerned about.”

Former NFL running back DeAngelo Williams chimed in on the conversation and said that Brady really misses his security blanket in retired tight end Rob Gronkowski.

“I knew that Tom Brady and that offense wasn’t as potent as they used to be with the loss of (Rob Gronkowski), because that was his comfort zone. That’s what Tom Brady liked to go to when he needed a big play, if he needed something to happen, whether it’s a pass interference … he no longer has that cushion. So, therefore, the age is starting to show when he plays youthful, good teams.”

If Brady wants to shut down all the chatter, he’s obviously going to have to have a bounce back game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11.