BALTIMORE – In one corner will probably be, so to talk, the best dual-threat quarterback in NFL history, a record-breaking quarterback, a two-time MVP.

On the other hand, a fresh-faced challenger who is the talk of the league will probably be eagerly awaiting his first fight against the champion.

Make no mistake, just as Sunday’s Washington Commanders-Baltimore Ravens matchup will probably be certainly one of the two division leaders, it should even be a heavyweight battle between the Ravens’ superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson and a novice in command Jayden Daniels. And while the quarterbacks won’t face off head-to-head at M&T Bank Stadium, they may figuratively play it out while leading their teams.

Daniels has impressed the man whose belt he desires to win.

“I’ve seen glimpses of (Daniels)… on social media and stuff like that,” Jackson told reporters in Baltimore on Wednesday. “He’s leaving.”

Jackson too.

This season, Jackson, often dazzling as each a runner and passer, has been in great shape during the Ravens’ three-game winning streak.

While leading Baltimore (3-2) to a first-place finish against the Pittsburgh Steelers atop the AFC North, the three-time Pro Bowler accomplished 68% of his passes on 686 passing yards, with seven touchdowns and no interceptions. As a running back in that stretch, Jackson had 196 rushing yards (for a 6.13 yards per carry average) and two touchdowns. Overall, Jackson has 363 rushing yards (6.8 yards per carry) and ranks eighth in the league.

In the opening of the NFL season, the visiting Ravens lost to the two-time defending Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. Then in the second game, Baltimore lost at home to the Las Vegas Raiders.

However, since then, the Ravens have defeated the Dallas Cowboys on the road, the previously undefeated Buffalo Bills in Baltimore and the Cincinnati Bengals on the road. When the visiting Ravens defeated the Bengals in additional time 41-38 in Week 5, Jackson paced Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow with 348 yards passing, 4 touchdowns and 55 yards rushing.

After winning his second AP MVP award in 2023, Jackson, who holds the NFL single-season pass rushing record for a quarterback, is amongst the early favorites to win the hardware this season. As good as he ought to be, said renowned quarterback coach Quincy Avery.

Having Jackson and Daniels in the same ring together will probably be an incredible fight, and Avery intends to adapt to it.

“In my opinion, when it comes to the MVP race, Lamar Jackson is leading,” Avery told Andscape. “He plays at an incredible level. He’s just in a position to achieve this much and add a lot to this team.

Until then, Daniels is doing wonders for the Commanders.

The runaway leader for the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award, the 23-year-old Daniels has revitalized long-dormant Washington (4-1), which has won 4 straight games and is itself atop the NFC East. Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 draft, impressed with each his smarts as a passer and his breathtaking athleticism as a runner.

With a powerful completion percentage of 77.1, Daniels leads the NFL. He is also third in Total QBR and fifth in Passer Rating.

By jumping out of the pocket, Daniels often confuses potential tacklers. He usually extends attacks, offering a rare combination of speed and elusiveness to any player, let alone the passer. Daniels has 4 rushing touchdowns, good for fifth in the league, and 300 yards (5.3 yards per carry), good for 14th in the NFL.

Having watched Daniels throughout his college profession, Avery was confident that the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner could be certainly one of the league’s best rookies this season, but “he’s playing in addition to anyone I’ve seen in his rookie season, including (Houston Texans (quarterback) CJ Stroud with all the things he did last 12 months,” Avery said. “Not only is he a great athlete, but he has become a really great quarterback.”

Ravens coach John Harbaugh is with Avery.

“Jayden is playing at a very high level,” Harbaugh said. “He has his team. They built it around him.”

Daniels caused such a sensation that he rekindled something that had been extinguished in lots of Commanders fans over the last generation: hope.

“When you look at Washington’s commanders, you don’t think about them the same way you thought about them (in the past),” Avery said. “They seem like a well-run organization.”

It’s this positive atmosphere that the franchise quarterback inspires. Moreover, he is getting stronger by the day, because in keeping with many Washington team alumni, Daniels is great each on and off the field.

Washington franchise legend Doug Williams leads this group.

Williams’ iconic, myth-busting Super Bowl performance got here when he led Washington to a 42-10 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII. Williams, who became the first black passer to begin in the Super Bowl and win the game’s MVP award, said Daniels is even higher than advertised.

“Let me tell you something, he’s a really good guy and the guys see that,” said Andscape Williams, senior adviser to the commander. “The way he is, you’ll be able to see he cares about his teammates and everybody around him, you’ll be able to’t fake it.

“Don’t get me mistaken. He is a great man, but he is also a fighter. The guys see that he’ll come out and provides his all. Even after just five games, it’s clear he won’t back down from the fight.

On Sunday, you’ll be able to once more count on Daniels to take the field with a flourish. Jackson has proven that he is not one to present up. The wait is almost over.

Let’s prepare for a fight.

Regina Jackson, the mother of Washington Commanders second overall pick Jayden Daniels, has turn out to be the latest NFL mom to hitch the ranks of certified agents, earning her certification through the NFL Players Association.

Within the last month, Jackson became an authorized agent with the NFL Players Association passing exam at the end of July, in keeping with . Although she has not yet been named to her son’s official national team, she has been working towards this goal since his son’s playing football days.

Jackson, who White said has an MBA in entrepreneurship concentration and a master’s degree in public service administration, became one of about 1,000 NFL agents and one of about 50 women. To turn out to be one, an individual will need to have each a bachelor’s degree and postgraduate studies (master’s or law) from an accredited institution. This process requires a non-refundable fee of $2,500 and a passing background check. Prospective agents must attend a 2-3 day virtual seminar followed by an exam, typically held in late July.

Once certified, agents are required to pay annual dues starting from $1,500 to $2,000, depending on the number of clients they represent. Jackson not only increases the number of parents who’re also certified agents, but additionally adds to the growing list of female agents.

“For her, taking the agent test comes from a desire to learn, help her son and guide him throughout his NFL career,” said Denise White, a public relations specialist who works with Jayden Daniels and his family. “It’s important for her to have all this knowledge so she can give her son tips that will help him focus on the field and she will help him focus off the field.”

Jackson is not the first parent of an NFL player to turn out to be a registered agent; in reality, she’s not the only mother of a current contestant to carry that title. She joins Heather Van Norman, business manager and licensed agent for her son, Odell Beckham Jr., Alishia Jones, mother of Colts second-year linebacker Jaylon Jones, who became an authorized agent in 2023 but doesn’t represent her son.

Joe Linta represents players reminiscent of Colts quarterback Joe Flacco and 49ers linebacker Kyle Juszczyk, but he began his profession as an agent for his undrafted son TJ, who briefly signed with the Chiefs a month before being released. Similarly, Patrice McDowell-Brown became an agent in 2013, only a 12 months before her son, Preston Brown, was appointed.

Other members of the family who became agents include Will Wilson, the uncle of former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck, who represented him during his playing profession. Felicia Jones, Lamar Jackson’s mother, is commonly incorrectly known as his agent; nonetheless, she serves as his business manager. Kimberly Williams became an agent last 12 months and successfully negotiated two contracts for her son, Josh Williams, a sixth-year player for the Tigers.

“I think any business person with her background, her leadership and the companies she’s worked with… it would only make sense to me that she instilled in them this incredible work ethic,” White says. “He is focused on making sure he has all the tools and knowledge he can to guide him through his rookie season and NFL career.”

It’s an excellent thing that Jackson became an agent on her son’s management team, as Daniels always praised her for being his biggest supporter during his soccer journey.

“My mom never missed a game,” Daniels said on “The Pivot.” podcast last 12 months. “If it rains there, she will be there. If there are (negative) grades, she will stand there the whole time and make sure to cheer me on.”

At the beginning of the 2024 season, New York Liberty forward Jonquel Jones shared a brand new perspective on how she is approaching the upcoming 12 months.

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” she said.

While Jones, entering her eighth season within the league, talked concerning the upcoming season, the phrase might be applied to many features of her WNBA profession.

In some ways, Jones’ rise through the league has been a marathon. She went from not making the All-Rookie team to being the league’s Most Improved Player in 2017 and from WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year in 2018 to being the league’s MVP in 2021.

Her goal was also to win the championship.

While Liberty battles for the championship against the Minnesota Lynx, Jones is playing within the fourth WNBA Finals of his profession. The WNBA title is considered one of the most recent awards Jones can add to his trophy case. So far it has been elusive.

This 12 months could also be Jones’ best championship run as a member of a Liberty team that finished the regular season at the highest of the league and eliminated fellow champion Las Vegas Aces en path to the WNBA Finals.

However, Jones and Liberty may have some work to do after running into Ryś while biting his nails 95-93 Overtime thriller in the primary match on Thursday. If her performance within the series opener is any indication, Jones is determined to finish the championship drought for herself and the team.

“This is the last thing JJ needs to check,” Liberty teammate Courtney Vandersloot said.

“It’s a big deal for her.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, within the 28-year history of the WNBA, 10 players have lost their first three Finals appearances.

Of those 10 players, guard Katie Douglas won the championship – in 2012 with the Indiana Fever. The list includes players corresponding to forward Angel McCoughtry and former Liberty guards Becky Hammon, Vickie Johnson and Teresa Weatherspoon.

As she prepared for the finals, Jones focused on the opportunities before her.

“I just come to play hard,” Jones said. “I’m really the kind of one who focuses on one thing at a time, whatever a very powerful thing is, I let it’s a very powerful thing. Of course you learn out of your performance within the finals, but you approach it with the mindset to win the match.

Although the teams Jones played for were unsuccessful of their first three attempts at winning the championship, she delivered great play. According to ESPN Research, she is considered one of only six players in WNBA history to record greater than 20 double-doubles within the playoffs.

Jones performed brilliantly in each of his three finals appearances. In 2019, Jones averaged 19.2 points, 11 rebounds and 1.8 assists in her first Finals appearance with the Connecticut Sun against the Washington Mystics, a series that led to the fifth and final game. In 2022, Jones averaged 16 points, 8.3 rebounds and a couple of.3 assists against the Las Vegas Aces, who led the Sun in 4 games. Last season, Jones averaged 18.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and a couple of.8 blocks against the Aces as Las Vegas won its second straight title in 4 games.

On Thursday in the primary game, Jones scored 24 points and 10 rebounds, which is the best in each games.

“Honestly, that’s the story of my career,” Jones said. “If you return and have a look at all of the finals I’ve been in, I’d say I played well in them, we just didn’t win. That’s it.

On a team with many future Hall of Famers, Jones was the team’s top performer within the 2023 playoffs. Ultimately, it would not be enough.

“Winning another championship and losing is always motivating. I think we did a lot of good things last year. We just needed a little bit more,” Jones said.

This season has seen a major difference in Liberty’s consistency on the court. The band used their chemistry to rework from a gaggle of interconnected stars right into a harmonious whole. Combine that with the will to return to the Finals, and the result was a Liberty squad that played as title favorite for a lot of the season.

“Our team had a year to really grow, understand and build,” Jones said. “What now we have in common is the experience of attending to the championship and losing, after which having the hunger to exit on the pitch and make a call about how we approach the match – that (losing in the ultimate) had no impact on happening again.

“We still have a job to do. … We understand it will be a struggle, but together we have been through a lot, we have built each other up and become much stronger.”

For Jones, this season was a return to her old self. Jones spent much of last season recovering from a foot injury.

“What really helped me this year was just playing basketball, getting back on track and being healthy,” Jones said.

“I think he’s just getting comfortable and I think it’s going to take time,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “She has been injured for six months and it is difficult for her emotionally and physically. It started working towards the end, but then it was about how I could recover and be better from day one. She was huge for us.”

This season, Jones was chosen to her fifth All-Star game. For Liberty, she averaged 14.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and a career-best 3.2 assists.

When asked if she sees a way of urgency in Jones this 12 months and her pursuit of the title, Vandersloot replied that there is no noticeable difference because Jones has at all times carried the identical championship energy along with her.

“I don’t necessarily see anything different because she’s always approached every season like she wants to win a championship for as long as I’ve known her,” said Vandersloot, who played with Jones overseas before they became teammates at Liberty. “Of course, I feel just a little little bit of experience will assist in this case. He knows what it’s prefer to be on this group, but he approaches it the identical.”

Like Jones, forward Breanna Stewart and Vandersloot will make their fourth Finals appearance – a feat achieved by only 29 other players in WNBA history. Stewart won two championships with the Seattle Storm, and Vandersloot won a championship with the Chicago Sky. All three wish to win their first title since joining forces in New York last season to form an excellent team.

Vandersloot said she would like to see Jones fight for her first title.

“Especially the three of us, we colluded to come here and be in this exact situation and make JJ be her first. Stewie and I knew what it was like and of course you always want more,” Vandersloot said. “(JJ) put in the time. She got involved in the work. She became MVP. All her individual career successes. Getting there is huge for her.”

Keenly aware that it is often possible that one other likelihood on the championships won’t ever come, Jones knows that point should never be wasted when she makes it to the finals as a right – whether she wins or not. While Jones said there’s some frustration in reaching the ultimate lap multiple times a season after which ending up wanting it, she knows greater than most what the finish line looks like.

She hopes to perform that this season.

“I understand it’s a marathon, not a sprint,” Jones said again, this time through the shootaround before the primary game. “You go out there and try to do whatever the team needs to win.”