Mark Schlereth explains keys for Kansas City Chiefs to beat Baltimore Ravens

The Kansas City Chiefs are the underdogs on Sunday in Baltimore against the Ravens despite boasting the 2022 season title and last season’s league MVP Patrick Mahomes under center. Lamar Jackson is having an MVP-worthy season of his own and as the hosts on Sunday, the Ravens have a 3.5-point advantage, according to Vegas.

This week, former Super Bowl champion Mark Schlereth broke down what the Kansas City Chiefs need to do to shutdown Lamar Jackson in the conference championship game, and how to keep Patrick Mahomes clean against the Ravens defensive front.

“If you can make the Ravens have to be a drop-back passing team, I think that gives you at least an opportunity to win that game,” Schlereth said. “You’ve got to shut down that run, which is hard with the quarterback design stuff, the RPO stuff and then the zone-read stuff where Lamar can choose to hand it off or take off outside. It’s so hard to defend. If you can make them a dropback team, that’s not their forte. You can win a football game by doing that. Disrupt routes. Don’t let Lamar escape.”

“On the flip side, the Baltimore Ravens are so physical defensively,” Schlereth added. “They get so many free runners. When you play against them, it feels like you’re under attack the whole time. They have a lot of simulated pressures. Protection becomes paramount and how you call protections.”

Even though the Ravens are the favorites on Sunday, Baltimore doesn’t exactly have a great record against the Chiefs. Jackson has lost three of four meetings against Mahomes, which is the most losses he’s had against any quarterback.

Mahomes, Jackson ready for heavy-weight fight

“I don’t like competing against him at all,” Jackson told reporters on Wednesday. “He’s a great quarterback. [He’s] definitely a Hall of Famer. It’s a no-brainer. I believe [it’s] just two greats — up-and-coming greats — just going toe-to-toe, like a heavyweight fight.”

While Mahomes has two recent Super Bowl titles, Jackson is just itching to hoist a Lombardi Trophy. The sixth-year quarterback knows this weekend could be the biggest challenge he’s faced this season, or even in his career.

“To be a champion, you’ve got to go through a champion,” Jackson said. “So, that’s pretty much the mindset.”

The two foes have yet to meet each other in the playoffs, so this matchup will only add to the rivalry for years to come.

“I know we’re going to play in a lot of games like this as our careers go on,” Mahomes said, “and I’m sure this will be the first of many.”

Despite the heated rivalry that this weekend’s game continues to fuel, the Chiefs star told reporters that he believes Jackson should be this year’s NFL MVP. The former Louisville star currently leads the odds to win the top prize, which will be announced on Feb. 8.

“He’s going to be the MVP for a reason,” Mahomes said. “He goes out there, he leads his team. He scores, he runs, he throws, he does whatever it takes to win. That’s what the great greats do. It will be a great challenge for our defense, but also a great challenge for offense going against their defense. So it’s going to take a full team effort if we want to find a way to get a win.”