Yes You Cam! Newton Calls Baltimore Ravens' Lamar Jackson Next Young Super Bowl Champ
Cam Newton is backing the birds' franchise quarterback.
Lamar Jackson is a long way off from silencing the doubters that have made their presence all too felt after he and the Baltimore Ravens saw a 13-win season go to waste in an AFC title game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. But Jackson has an accomplished backer in fellow NFL MVP and dual-threat talent Cam Newton, who was more than happy to sing his praises in an appearance on Shannon Sharpe's web series "Club Shay Shay."
Asked by the three-time Super Bowl champion and former Ravens tight end about which young quarterback had the best chance of hoisting Vince Lombardi's silver (offered a list that also included Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts, Jordan Love, Dak Prescott, and Brock Purdy), Newton wasted no time endorsing Jackson.
Newton, 34, hasn't taken an NFL field since 2021 but has hardly hesitated to comment on the game's modern affairs, often labeling certain quarterbacks as unworthy of Super Bowl contention. He harbors hope for Jackson, however, and said that his ultimate difference-maker would be to find a way to win "ugly" games.
""I think one thing that Lamar and the Ravens organization just has to figure out is how to win the ugly games," Newton told Sharpe. "It's one of them situations when I look at Lamar, it's like, 'Bro, stop thinking.' … Find a way to win the ugly games and we can talk about the other stuff later."
Newton praised Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes for such abilities and namely mentioned the former's victory in Super Bowl LIII, when the New England Patriots downed the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in the lowest scoring Big Game. Brady threw for only 262 yards in the game and compiled a 71.4 passer rating thanks to no touchdowns and an interception. But Brady came up big when it mattered most, as he went 4-for-4 for 67 yards on the long touchdown drive of the game in the fourth quarter.
“That is what made Tom Brady and the New England Patriots so dynamic, because we're (going to) find a way to win," Newton said. "We got to find a way to win and once he figures that out, the organization figures that out, (whistles)."
To that point, Baltimore is only 11-13 when Jackson posts a passer rating under 76.0, including 1-3 in the postseason. That includes a 75.5 posting in the aforementioned loss to the Chiefs, which saw him go 20-for-37 for 272 yards and a touchdown and interception each.