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The Lamar Jackson vs. Patrick Mahomes debate ramped up significantly this past year Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback claimed his first Super Bowl title. The way it happened left some to wonder if there’s an early leader in the debate over who’s the best.
Who should be considered as the top choice to lead a franchise at this point in time? According to a new Bleacher Report poll of writers, the answer is Mahomes, albeit narrowly. He won a poll 4-3 in terms of which quarterback the analysts would take.
Chiming in on that front, the Pro Football Talk account run by Mike Florio also cast a vote for Mahomes, saying he’s the better player even though Jackson is special.
Obviously, for the Ravens, this debate is meaningless. Their top goal is to win the Super Bowl following the 2020 season playing out, and Jackson is an excellent player to help them toward that goal as the reigning 2020 MVP. The moves the Ravens made this offseason should help to supplement Jackson in this goal moving forward, no matter who the experts support head to head.
Colin Cowherd Taking Patrick Mahomes Over Lamar Jackson
According to Colin Cowherd of Fox Sports, the answer is yes, and it’s Mahomes. After watching the Super Bowl, Cowherd made a proclamation about where the Baltimore Ravens‘ quarterback stands against the Chiefs’ signal caller.
“I’d still take Patrick Mahomes the next 10 years. I think there’s a gap between Mahomes and Lamar Jackson,” Cowherd said. “When Lamar Jackson trails late in games, he gets further away from what makes him special; the feet. When Patrick Mahomes trails late, he leans into his greatest talent, throwing the ball.”
As Cowherd continued, Mahomes is never out of a game, something which showed up in the Super Bowl which is different than Jackson.
“There’s no formula with Patrick Mahomes. He can trail by 21 late, it doesn’t matter. That’s the gap between Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, and it’s no shot at Jackson. You saw the gap. You felt the gap,” he said. “Even the Baltimore coaches first half against Tennessee’s low wattage offense, when Baltimore trailed first half, you could sense the Baltimore coaches’ panic. In the Super Bowl, there was never any panic. That’s the gap. That’s the difference. Not all MVP’s are flawless.”
Cowherd believes that Jackson has conditions to be able to win games, while Mahomes doesn’t.
“As long as he gets the ball, he’ll win. I don’t feel that way with Lamar,” he said. “I feel there’s a certain style and the game has to work a certain way and Lamar needs a running game. He’s better playing with a lead, playing downhill. Don’t want him trailing by 2 touchdowns with 6 minutes left. I thought you saw a gap there.”
As always, it’s easy to judge these things in an immediate vacuum but likely, the only thing needed to completely judge this is time.
Analyst Predicts Patrick Mahomes-Lamar Jackson Rivalry
In Mahomes vs. Jackson, the league could have its new top rivalry for years to come. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press even goes so far as to say it could become this generation’s Brady vs. Manning.
Mahomes has made back to back AFC Championship game appearances, while Jackson has been knocked out of the playoffs the last pair of seasons. Mahomes won last year’s MVP award, and Jackson could very likely be on track to do the same this season. Both play a different game than Brady and Manning, which could only figure to shake things up further for the league in terms of style and competition.
All of that could set up a fantastic rivalry for football fans for a long time. But the duo better start to win multiple Super Bowls in order to reach what Brady and Manning had head to head for years.
Shannon Sharpe Weighs in on Patrick Mahomes vs. Lamar Jackson
Never afraid to share his opinion, Shannon Sharpe of Fox Sports hopped on Twitter during the playoff frenzy over one weekend, which saw the Ravens eliminated following a frustrating performance and saw the Kansas City Chiefs move on following a great day from Patrick Mahomes and provided his take.
As Sharpe said, even though Jackson had a great 2019 season and looks poised to take home the MVP award that he earned, he’s still taking Mahomes over Jackson as the best quarterback in football.
Mahomes has certainly been great early in his career, and so has Jackson. The duo has similar styles, so it’s hard to say which is truly the best at this point in time. Sharpe himself thinks it’s Mahomes at this point.
Lamar Jackson vs. Patrick Mahomes
Though the duo did not meet up in the 2020 playoffs and haven’t dueled there as of yet, it will not be a stretch to see them battle into the next decade as the next “it” rivalry at quarterback in the NFL. Mahomes, just a few years into his career, has burst on the scene with an MVP award, All-Pro honors and has been to a pair of Pro Bowls. Jackson is set to do the same after his work this season.
Head to head, the Chiefs have beaten the Ravens two straight games dating back to 2018. Jackson hasn’t yet managed to get over the hump with a win against his biggest rival. Until he does, it’s fair for some to keep him behind Mahomes in terms of the best in the NFL.
Stay tuned in the future, of course, to see where the argument goes in the coming years. Many see this as the new big rivalry in football for a long time.
For now, many ate taking Mahomes as the quarterback they’d build their franchise around. Of course there’s time for Jackson and the Ravens to reverse course and prove this wrong by winning.
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