Patrick Mahomes has emerged as one of the best players in the NFL. He gets to take on another AFC rising star this weekend in Lamar Jackson.
Week 3 of the NFL started off with a total dud on Thursday night.
Better matchups await on Sunday including a game that features two quarterbacks who may end up being the next legendary duo in the AFC.
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are hosting Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in a rematch of one of the better games of 2018. The Chiefs edged out the Ravens 27-24 in overtime.
This time around both quarterbacks have more experience and are leading 2-0 teams into Sunday. In an odd scheduling move, the game is at 1 p.m. ET. A bit of a bummer, but those who are able to watch any game should certainly tune in to this one.
Both Mahomes and Jackson have seven passing touchdowns compared to zero interceptions this season. Dak Prescott is the only other quarterback with seven touchdowns this season, but he does have an interception.
The main difference comes in the passing yards category where Mahomes already has 821 yards on the season. Through two games! That has him on pace for about 6,500 passing yards this season. Jackson’s total of 596 still has him on pace for about 4,800 yards.
The stats for both may be even greater if both played in shootout games to start the season. That is the beauty of both of these young quarterbacks. They are capable of putting up video game numbers if needed.
Of course, both the Chiefs and Ravens are more than just their respective quarterbacks. But as we have seen with some questionable roughing penalties, the quarterbacks are the stars of the league. Fans want to tune in and see each player throw for five touchdowns.
Whether both will be able to do that Sunday remains to be seen because both the Ravens and the Chiefs have had success on defense this season.
The Ravens shut down the Miami Dolphins in Week 1, though that can be considered a wash. Miami is beyond bad. Then came Week 2 when the surprisingly feisty Arizona Cardinals only managed 17 points against the Ravens defense.
The Chiefs defense did allow 26 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1. Yet when the offense scores 40 there is not the same sense of urgency that would be there if it was a close game. The score was also 40-19 before a garbage-time Jacksonville touchdown.
Week 2 saw a better result as the Chiefs held the Oakland Raiders to 10 points. All Mahomes did was throw four touchdowns in the second quarter and demoralize the Raiders before they knew what happened.
The game is must-see TV for so many reasons. It is a potential AFC Championship Game preview and features the two teams closest to taking down the mighty New England Patriots.
But all the storylines are going to focus on the quarterback play. On one side is Mahomes, who has emerged as a superstar after one full season of play. On the other side is Jackson, a player who had to fight just to play the position he is great at.
AFC supremacy is on the line as fans get to see two future stars of the game battle for the second time. Hopefully it lives up to the hype.