Apparently, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was watching Thursday Night Football and liked what he saw.
On the first drive for the Baltimore Ravens, quarterback Lamar Jackson broke Michael Vick’s single-season rushing record. Jackson ran the ball three times for 27 yards, including a 20-yard scamper that caused Brady to head to Twitter to issue a challenge as a bit of a joke (I hope).
The race: a 40-yard dash on natural grass between the two quarterbacks. The caveat is Jackson has to wear rollerblades.
Me vs Lamar, 40 Yard Dash on natural grass but he has to wear rollerblades. Who’s buying the PPV?
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) December 13, 2019
File this under “stuff that never crossed my mind” and/or “stuff I kinda want to see.”
We’ve already seen Jackson outplay Brady on the field in an actual game this season, with Baltimore beating New England 37-20 in Week 9. And with both the Patriots and Ravens heading to the postseason, we might see that matchup yet again this year.
Jackson is currently the frontrunner in the NFL’s MVP race, in part thanks to his legs. He’s been electric all season long when running with the football, making defenders hilariously whiff on tackles before torching their teammates for long gains. Now with the record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single season, there’s little question Jackson is the most dynamic quarterback to have ever played the game.
On Thursday against the Jets, Jackson hit a max speed of 20.11 mph, according to Next Gen Stats. Meanwhile, Brady has topped 10 mph just twice this season, according to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley and Next Gen Stats. For his part, Jackson wasn’t willing to anoint himself the winner of that race.
Lamar Jackson on Tom Brady's challenge of a 40-yard dash on natural grass with Jackson on roller blades: "He's probably going to win that race. Roller blades on grass? Oh man. I’m going to see what I can do. Tom still got a little bit in him. I've seen him."
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) December 13, 2019
Though, even in rollerblades, I’m not sure I’d bet against Jackson here.
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