Patrick Mahomes vs. Lamar Jackson games have been extremely one-sided. Does it change in AFC Championship?

The Baltimore Ravens with Lamar Jackson and the Kansas City Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes played each other in each of Jackson’s first four seasons in the NFL, but their last encounter was back in September 2021. Despite the distance, it’s worth nothing that the Chiefs are 3-1 against the Ravens in those games, but Baltimore won the most recent tilt.

The Week 2 matchup had KC jump out to a 35-24 lead with 22 minutes left in the game, but two Lamar Jackson rushing TDs in the fourth quarter put the Ravens ahead for good. Jackson opened the scoring, too, albeit with a pick-6 to Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu, but the Ravens got their own defensive touchdown to even the score on a fumble return. Big plays were prevalent in the first three quarters; in addition to the two return touchdowns, Mahomes had three touchdown passes of 33+ yards and Jackson had a 40-yarder to Marquise Brown.

Mahomes finished 24-of-32 for 343 yards, three touchdowns, and a pick. Jackson was 18-of-26 for 239 yards, a touchdown, two picks, but added 107 yards and two scores on the ground.

The only multi-score victory of the bunch, the story is told in the stat line from Jackson. He was not at his best in this Week 3 contest. The Chiefs built a 13-3 then 20-10 lead before a 49-yard pass from Mahomes pried open the game. The Ravens brought it back to 27-20 as the fourth quarter got under way, but KC responded with another touchdown to put the game out of reach. Baltimore’s first touchdown was a 93-yard kickoff return, so they only scored one TD on offense all game.

Mahomes finished a monster day going 31-of-42 for 385 yards and four TD passes while adding 26 yards and a TD on the ground. Jackson was 15-of-28 for just 97 yards and one touchdown, adding nine rushes for 83 yards. Lamar was sacked four times and fumbled twice, losing one to the other team.

Kansas City was down 6-0 after the first quarter but entered halftime up 23-6; an 83-yard dagger from Mahomes put the Chiefs up 20-3 with three minutes left and they snuck a field goal through the uprights in the final five seconds. The Ravens brought it back to 23-13 to start the second half, but the Chiefs responded to go up 17 heading into the final quarter. After nine straight Ravens points, the Chiefs managed a field goal to make it an 11-point game with 4:36 left. Baltimore scored a touchdown at the 2-minute warning to finish the scoring in Week 3.

Mahomes was 27-of-37 for 374 yards and three touchdowns and no turnovers. Jackson was 22-of-43 for 267 yards while taking three sacks, adding 46 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Their first meeting during Jackson’s rookie season came down to the wire in Week 14. The teams traded short rushing touchdowns, then Baltimore had to settle for a 28-yard field goal halfway through the second quarter. A Travis Kelce TD catch and a field goal as time expired gave Kansas City the touchdown-sized lead at the half. The Ravens scored a TD in the third quarter and found the end zone again with four minutes left to build their own 7-point lead. Mahomes built his reputation on the ensuing drive, converting multiple fourth downs as Kansas City tied it up with just under a minute left. After a 9-second drive from the Ravens, the Chiefs recovered a Jackson fumble at the Ravens’ 24. Harrison Butker missed the winning field goal as time expired, sending the game to overtime. The Chiefs scored a field goal on their first drive of OT, and on the ensuing drive, Jackson was knocked from the game. Robert Griffin III’s final two passes were incomplete and the game ended.

Mahomes finished 35-of-53 for 377 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception while being sacked three times and fumbling once (recovered by KC). Jackson was 13-of-24 for 147 yards and two touchdowns alongside 67 yards on the ground, but he was sacked twice and lost one fumble. RG3 was 0-for-2.

In his four games against the Ravens, Mahomes has racked up some impressive stats. He’s 117-of-163 (71.78%) for 1479 yards (369.75 yards per game), 12 touchdowns to 2 interceptions, and he’s been sacked just four times. He has another touchdown on the ground and both of his fumbles were recovered by his own team.

Against the Chiefs, Jackson’s numbers are not as great as his counterpart. He is 68-of-121 (56.20%) for 750 yards (187.5 yards per game), 4 touchdowns to 2 interceptions, and he’s been sacked 10 times. He has another 305 yards on the ground and three touchdowns, but two of his three fumbles were recovered by the Chiefs.

This is a good time to remind you that the two quarterbacks are probably not going to be on the field together outside of the coin toss and the handshake. Lamar can’t do anything to slow down Patrick, and wins aren’t a QB stat for that reason among many. It’s hard to argue with Mahomes’ success against the Ravens, though.