Kansas City has not been Lamar Jackson's happy place since he entered the NFL.
His record is 0-3 as a starter at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, and he has a 1-4 career record in head-to-head matchups against Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
However, the past means little to Jackson, regardless of what it might mean to others. Here's the fact that fuels Jackson: the Ravens are 1-2. The sense of urgency that Jackson will bring to Sunday's game in Kansas City has less to do with Mahomes and the Chiefs and everything to do with his team needing a victory.
"Like I always say, each and every week, I'm going to be motivated no matter who the opponent is, no matter where it is," Jackson said. "I'm just trying to win. I'm already motivated.
"It's in the past. You can't bring what happened back whenever to this year. We just have to lock in on what's ahead right now."
With the Chiefs also 1-2, this has not been a typical September for either quarterback. However, Jackson and Mahomes are still doing things that special players do.
Jackson is the NFL's leader in quarterback rating (141.8), touchdown passes (nine), and yards per completion (9.6), and the Ravens lead the NFL in scoring (37 points per game). The Chiefs always expect Jackson to play well, but they enter this matchup thinking that they've never seen him play better.
"We've got so much respect for the dude, not just him but their whole offense, their whole team," Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis said via the Chiefs’ website. "He's so athletic but he's such an accurate quarterback, I don't think he gets enough respect for that. It's going to take everything we've got to stop him."
Jackson thinks it's important that the Ravens start fast offensively on Sunday, and he would feel that way even if Baltimore were playing better defensively. Falling behind against the Chiefs gives Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo more leeway to bring a variety of blitz packages that can cause any quarterback problems.
In his six career starts against Kansas City, Jackson has nine touchdown passes, but he also has seven turnovers with a quarterback rating (80.7) that's less gaudy than his usual numbers.
The Chiefs have a talented defense and will take note that Jackson was sacked seven times in Monday night's loss to the Lions. Baltimore is going to see a variety of looks from Spagnuolo on Sunday, and Jackson plans to be ready for them.
"They play Cover 0, Cover 6 sometimes, quarters defense, and invert Cover 2," Jackson said. "They do it all, but we just have to execute, stay positive and ahead of the sticks, get first downs and put points on the board."
While many of Baltimore's issues have been on defense, Mahomes and the Chiefs are off to a difficult start offensively. Mahomes' passing stats (three touchdowns, one interception, 59% completion percentage) aren't nearly as impressive as Jackson's, but Mahomes leads all NFL quarterbacks in rushing yards (125) this season – a further indication that the three-time Super Bowl champion will do whatever it takes to win.
He knows the Ravens have been struggling on defense, but he's expecting to see them bounce back on Sunday.
"You saw Monday night. The Ravens, they're a prideful group," Mahomes said. "I don't think they're going to be very happy with the film.
"It will be a great test for us, to go up against a team that's going to be as hungry as we are."
If the Ravens win, talk about Jackson never winning in Kansas City will be put to rest. If Baltimore loses, it will be another bad memory against the Chiefs, and more importantly, the Ravens will fall to 1-3.
No team has reached the Super Bowl after starting 1-3 since 2001, when the Patriots turned their season around to defeat the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. The Ravens can still reach their ultimate goal no matter what happens on Sunday, but they have dug an early hole that Jackson doesn't want to see get deeper.
On this trip to Kansas City, the only souvenir he wants to bring back is a W.
"I don't really care about what happened in the past," Jackson said. "I'll be mad about the situation – don't get me wrong – when it happens, but we've got to get ready for the Chiefs. We can't dwell on old history. We have to worry about what's going on now.
"Guys look to me for that leadership role, so I'm going to try, to the best of my ability, to let those guys know that it's on. We have to tighten up. Even though we're 1-2, and we were there last year, that's not pretty to be sitting at. It's a long season ahead of us, but we have to just lock in."
