Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson are division rivals in the AFC North, with the two-time MVP returning to action as the Baltimore Ravens crushed the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football
23:52 ET, 30 Oct 2025Updated 23:52 ET, 30 Oct 2025
Lamar Jackson returned as the Ravens secured a third win of the season
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Lamar Jackson returned as the Ravens secured a third win of the season(Image: Getty Images)
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is a huge fan of Lamar Jackson as the Baltimore Ravens seek to mount a challenge for the AFC North title.
On Thursday Night Football, the Ravens crushed the Miami Dolphins. Jackson returned from injury, having been absent since Week 4, and threw for four touchdowns as the Ravens won 28-6.
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Despite controversy regarding Jackson’s potential return last week, the Ravens have now won back-to-back wins and have their quarterback on the field. Baltimore is now at 3-5 and, thanks to their upcoming schedule, poses a threat to the 4-3 Steelers for the AFC North lead. It comes as 10 players including another veteran quarterback could be traded before the deadline.
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Jackson’s return spells bad news for the Steelers, with the Ravens set to face off against their division rivals twice in what could decide the fate of the playoff berth. Rodgers will hope Pittsburgh can discover some form after losing successive games, and the 41-year-old is preparing to go head-to-head with Jackson at some stage.
Despite being division rivals, Rodgers is a huge fan of Jackson. The pair have six rings between them, and Rodgers never shies away from heaping praise on Jackson.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show during the 2024 NFL season, a year in which Jackson was in the running for his third MVP award, Rodgers said: “That’s why it’s so impressive for a guy like Lamar or anybody to win multiple MVP’s. Because you’ve had years to game plan for this guy and try to figure him out.
“There was a time where everybody was zero blitzing Lamar. Zero blitz Lamar like crazy, but they got through that stretch. There are stretches of your career where you’ve got to get through whatever the label is on how to stop you, and the way you play.
“First you’ve got to establish what the label is because you’ve got to go ball out and them figure out how to try and stop you. But it doesn’t stop after one good year.”
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Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers have lost successive games to allow the Ravens hope in the AFC North race
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Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers have lost successive games to allow the Ravens hope in the AFC North race(Image: Getty Images)
Then, later in the season, after Jackson threw five touchdowns against the New York Giants, Rodgers went back on The Pat McAfee Show and continued to wax lyrical about the Ravens quarterback. He said: “As someone who's won MVP back-to-back years and knows how hard that is, can we just not gloss over what Lamar's doing?
“I love watching Lamar play and love to see his continual growth and how he changes the game. Obviously, he's so dynamic, but he's really become such an elite passer of the football. He's having a ridiculous year.”
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There is tremendous mutual respect between the pair. Jackson should have perhaps won MVP for a third time last season, but was denied the award as Josh Allen was named the winner.
While Jackson was unable to win the award in successive years, Rodgers won back-to-back MVP awards in 2020 and 2021 with the Green Bay Packers, becoming the first player to achieve this feat since Peyton Manning in 2008-2009. The two men, armed with all their individual accolades, will go head-to-head for the AFC North later this year.