Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola heaps praise on $70,000,000 worth Patrick Mahomes ahead of AFC Championship Game - “that’s a bad man!!”

Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola praised the Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the lead-up to the AFC Championship Game between the Chiefs and the Ravens.

Raiola took to Instagram to express his admiration for Mahomes, referring to him as "a bad man":

"That's a bad man!!

IG@dylan Raiola

Sunday's AFC Championship game is more than team competition. It's a legendary face-off between young quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, both previous MVP winners.

For the first time, two ex-MVP victors, both still under 30, will battle in a championship match. However, Mahomes and Jackson show mutual respect, and Mahomes praises Jackson's leadership, admiring how he can score, run and throw with skill.

“He’s going to be the MVP for a reason. He goes out there, he leads his team, he scores, he runs, he throws, he does whatever it takes to win, and that’s what the greats do,” Mahomes acknowledged

Meanwhile, Jackson hails Mahomes as a definite Hall of Famer, appreciating his impact on the game:

“He’s definitely a Hall of Famer.”

Historic AFC championship game

In the current AFC Championship Game, Patrick Mahomes displayed pinpoint accuracy with a 100.0% completion rate, totaling 25 yards and a passer rating of 101.4.

In the regular season, the player showed his skills with stats like 4,183 yards and a 67.2% completion rate. He also scored 27 touchdowns. His overall career numbers are 28,424 yards and a 103.5 passer rating.

These two quarterbacks have had some epic games before. This includes a Chiefs victory in 2018 (27-24) and a thrilling 36-35 win by the Ravens in 2021.

Mahomes, who does well in the postseason, comes into this game with a unique record. He's the first quarterback in history with no sacks or turnovers in 3 straight playoff starts.

Missing piece for Patrick Mahomes

The Chiefs are dealing with a big issue - Joe Thuney, their star left guard, is out due to injury. The team is up against the Raven's defense, who are known to be tough.

Thuney's miss is big because he played 30 games without a penalty. That says a lot about his impact. In comes Nick Allegretti. He's been around, but facing Justin Madubuike of the Ravens is not an easy job.

The Chiefs need to change how they play to factor in Allegretti, and need to make sure that Mahomes is protected from the Ravens' defensive players.