Stage Set for Jackson's Reign as NFL's New King

Lamar Jackson is 60 minutes away from playing in his first Super Bowl.Photo by(The author)

On Sunday, it's Mahomes vs. Jackson for the NFL's kingdom

BALTIMORE — "Mahomes has twice taken the Chiefs to the top of the football mountain," Serby writes, "and now defends the crown that Jackson desperately wants and needs to be King, after all these years as Prince of Baltimore."

So glorious Mahomes's career has been that NFL experts are already comparing him to Brady.

"King Mahomes" some have already crowned him. But if, pardon, when Jackson and the Ravens dethrone the reigning Super Bowl champs, not to mention win the Super Bowl too, Jackson will abruptly ascend to the throne.

"The NFL's New King" will read the headline.

In football's version of the Game of Thrones, the stage has already been set for King Jackson's reign to start.

In short, something tells me that Mahomes — the reigning king — deep down suspects he, Kelce and the rest of the Chiefs are in big trouble.

When entering M&T Bank Stadium this Sunday afternoon, they'll feel like lambs being led to the slaughter.

Vegas sees the writing on the wall

For the first time in history, the defending Super Bowl champs are considerable underdogs in the conference championship game. And for good reason...

...The oddsmakers realize the Ravens have the #1-ranked defense... the league's MVP. And oh, let's not forget the Ravens have home-field advantage too.

In just over 24 hours, the line had shifted from -3.5 to Ravens -4.5 at Circa Sports and SuperBook Sports, as of Saturday afternoon. That's saying a mouthful.

Oddsmakers, who make a living from weighing the odds, see the following writing on the wall:

The stage has been set for Lamar Jackson to reign as the NFL's new king.

The Takeaway

Admittedly, I'm a huge Patrick Mahomes fan. We're both from Texas, after all. So the affinity comes naturally. Yet the football fan in me knows better.

I've seen this movie before.

Even my uncle Reggie Phillips, who once scored a touchdown en route to a Super Bowl victory, suggests this Ravens' defense is every bit as good as his famed '85 Bears.

As for the Chiefs, they lack explosiveness at key skilled positions. That's a Problem with a capital "p." This explains why no one on the entire roster has over 1,000 yards rushing or receiving. This clearly doesn't bode well for any team when facing the league's best defense.

In short, no amount of Taylor Swift wearing Kelce's jerseys is going to save the Chiefs in this one.

After all, the stage has already been set for "King Jackson's" reign.