Lamar Jackson doesn’t care about opening his season against Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs

Jackson admits the AFC Championship loss to Patrick Mahomes put a chip on his shoulder for the Super Bowl.

Lamar Jackson doesn’t care about opening his season against Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs

Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes (Via Imago)

The 2024 regular season is opening with a thrilling matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs. Many are even considering it a rematch of last season’s AFC championship game, giving the Ravens another opportunity to defeat the reigning Super Bowl champions and avenge the disheartening loss. 

But it appears quarterback Lamar Jackson has bigger goals in mind which certainly does not include taking petty revenge from their conference rivals. As much as fans would want the Ravens to hold a grudge, Jackson knows the opening game wouldn’t decide which of them would represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. 

Even though the AFC championship loss against Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs hit the Ravens hard and motivated them, facing them in the opening game isn’t a big deal for Jackson. As he ought to defeat the four-time Super Bowl champions in the AFC game in the upcoming season and advance to the Super Bowl.

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I really don’t care who we play; it really didn’t matter--At the end of the day, our goal is to make it to the Super Bowl. We lost to them in the playoffs. Just us beating them in the regular season doesn’t really do anything; it just helps us keep stacking up wins to hopefully make it to the playoffs if anything to try to get in that same position again and hopefully be successful.
Lamar Jackson said during a press conference last week (H/T: NBC Sports)

The Ravens’ star QB is focusing on the bigger picture since the AFC loss to Mahomes put a chip on his shoulder and as he enters his seventh season in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl ring is everything to him.

Ravens’ bitter playoff exit fuels drive for upcoming season 

Despite dominating the AFC for most of the 2023-24 season, the Ravens lost to the team with the weakest receiving squad, the Chiefs last season. It did leave a “bitter taste” in the players’ mouths but also motivated them for total dominance in the upcoming season. 

However, the Ravens’ playoff elimination wasn’t that surprising as it has become more of a track record for them: dominating the regular season and then falling off the rack in the playoffs. 

Lamar Jackson
Lamar Jackson (via IMAGO)

Quarterback Jackson, the winner of a second consecutive NFL MVP award, has the second-best regular season record of 58-19 since 2018. However, his 2-4 win/loss stat in the playoffs is not looking good on his resume. Flipping that record and a Lombardi trophy is a major requirement for him to justify his MVP awards.

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