Lamar Jackson praises Cam Newton as Ravens prepare for test against Patriots

Dejan Kalinic

Lamar Jackson praises Cam Newton as Ravens prepare for test against Patriots image

Lamar Jackson paid tribute to Cam Newton as the Baltimore Ravens prepare to face the New England Patriots.

The Ravens (6-2) and Patriots (3-5) meet at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, with New England having won 10 of the 14 clashes between the teams all-time.

Newton, the 2015 NFL MVP, only joined the Patriots ahead of this season and comes up against Jackson, who took the individual honour in 2019.

Jackson praised Newton, saying: "I've been watching Cam since a long time, the whole country did.

"Everybody knows about Cam's Superman [celebration] and he was doing his thing. A lot of us look up to him, he's a mobile quarterback, and he's won titles, county championships, he got MVP and played in the Super Bowl, so I followed him a lot.

"I wanted to get to where he was at, and now I'm here and I get to play against him. So can't wait to do that."

Jackson added: "Just game recognising game. He's the real OG, Superman."

Newton has more rushing touchdowns (eight) than passing touchdowns (two) this season. The last player with that big a difference was Chicago's Johnny Lujack in 1950, when he finished with 11 rush TDs and just four pass TDs (minimum 100 pass attempts in a season).

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is wary of Newton, who threw two TD passes and rushed for another when he last faced Baltimore, in a 36-21 Carolina Panthers win in 2018.

"We've played Cam Newton before, the last time we played him he had a very good game against us," he said.

"So that's the challenge, he's an excellent quarterback, a very aware player and talented.

"He has a great arm, can beat you with his legs too, so that's the challenge this week."

Dejan Kalinic