Not all prime-time NFL games are created the same.
Count the Monday night shock of this week as a premium Class A premium.
The last time a regular season game got this kind of hype, the Kansas City boss beat the Los Angeles Rams in a Monday night game that can reasonably be called the greatest regular season football game. never played.
Patrick Mahomes and his company are in the spotlight once again this week as the Chiefs take on the Baltimore Ravens in this young NFL season’s main event which can be streamed live on the Yahoo Sports app.
So many distinctions
It’s a contest pitting the best regular season team from last year against the reigning Super Bowl champions. This is a clash between 2019 League MVP Lamar Jackson and Super Bowl Mahomes MVP. That same quarterback duel is a clash between the league’s last two MVPs and arguably the two brightest young stars in the NFL.
Of course, Mahomes and Jackson won’t face each other. They will face opposing defenses who finished last season among the NFL’s top 10 scorers. Both defenses are among the top 10 in the league to start 2020.
It’s a meeting that most neutral observers would like to see again in the AFC championship game.
For now we’ll have to settle for slightly lower stakes as the 2-0 pair of teams prepare early for playoff positioning. And it will be fine.
Can the Ravens get revenge, get up early?
The last time these two met was week 3 last season. Mahomes had just completed a stunning 50 touchdown MVP campaign in his first season as a starter that ended an offside penalty from Dee Ford before a trip to the Super Bowl. He was a known commodity.
Jackson, not so much. The second-year quarterback showed promise in seven starts in 2018 as a rookie and succeeded Joe Flacco to lead the Ravens to a playoff berth. He was only beginning to tease the electricity that would unleash the league’s biggest offense.
The Chiefs got off to a good start that day, scoring 23 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 23-6 halftime lead. The Ravens fired back as a late Jackson touchdown reduced Kansas City’s lead to 33-28 with 2:01 to go.
But Mahomes didn’t return the ball to Jackson as the Chiefs ran out of time to hand the Ravens the first of their two regular-season losses in 2019. Mahomes also beat Jackson in the scoring area, shooting for 374 yards and three touchdowns. without turnover. Jackson’s only score that day was his late touchdown to the ground.
On Monday we’ll see a fully trained Jackson show MVP form again after a pair of dominating wins over the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans. Mahomes, of course, is still Mahomes as the Chiefs toppled the Texans and Los Angeles Chargers. Both players are armed with a stable of versatile offensive weapons.
And these defenses? They are still strong.
This one is going to be fun.
Buckle up.
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