Why Chiefs-Ravens is the best game of the NFL season
By Dustin Baker
7. Patrick Mahomes vs. Lamar Jackson
It was predictable, but you knew this would be the main event of the analysis. Why? Because it’s the main event of the evening.
The NBA shifted its marketing methodology around the time Michael Jordan became a household name. Rather than “Bulls vs. Celtics,” the marquee transformed into “Jordan vs. Bird.” The same goes for “Jordan vs. Magic” or “LeBron vs. Curry.” The strategy worked and remains in place to date.
The NFL has followed suit. Quarterbacks, for better or worse, usurp the glory of wins and bear the blame for defeat. When the Patriots won their six Super Bowls, they were classified as “six rings for Tom Brady.” It’s the modern nature of the beast.
In mere hours, we get to relax on the couch and experience Mahomes vs. Jackson — the last two NFL MVPs, the youth movement of NFL quarterbacks, and two of the three best passers the league has to offer. (Russell Wilson would be perturbed if not included in this slate of signal-callers.)
It’s the boxing approach we apply to sports — Mono e Mono, two quarterbacks throwing haymakers. It may not be fair to the other 104 players on the field tonight to consolidate the game into two players, but I’ll be damned if it won’t be joyous fun to watch Mahomes and Jackson squabble.