Veteran Brady leads the Patriots against young Jackson’s Ravens

Lamar Jackson is off to a sensational start with his arm and his legs, putting up eye-popping numbers in his second NFL season. The Baltimore quarterback knows he has a long way to go, though, to become great.

He'll see Exhibit A on the other sideline when the Ravens host Tom Brady and the undefeated New England Patriots tonight in one of the more intriguing matchups of Week 9.

"Tom Brady is definitely the one at the top," Jackson said. "He has six Super Bowls. He's definitely the GOAT, definitely."

While Brady has Jackson's vote for the "Greatest of All Time" at quarterback, the New England star is hardly satisfied — even with all those rings and records. The Patriots are looking for their third 9-0 start in franchise history and second in five years.

"You have to sharpen your tools," Ravens defensive tackle Brandon Williams said, "because they're definitely sharpening theirs."

It all starts with Brady, of course. But Bill Belichick's bunch has also been doing it with a downright stingy defense.

The Patriots lead the NFL in points allowed per game (7.6) and have scored as many defensive touchdowns as they have allowed: four.

"We'll see how good they are once we play them," Ravens tight end Nick Boyle said. "I don't think they've seen anything like our offense or like Lamar."

In fairness, few have.

The dynamic Jackson is the only player in the NFL with at least 1,500 yards passing and 500 yards rushing this season. Jackson also ranks 10th overall in the league with 576 yards rushing — more than seven teams total.

"He's a major problem and everybody's had trouble with him," Belichick said. "It'll be a big challenge for us. Yeah, he can do it all. He can run, he can throw, can throw on the run, can extend plays. He's tough."

Tennessee (4-4) at Carolina (4-3)

The Titans have won consecutive games by a combined seven points and can thank quarterback Ryan Tannehill in large part. He has thrown for 505 yards with five touchdowns and one interception with a 115.3 passer rating in his two starts since replacing the benched Marcus Mariota.

Kyle Allen remains the starting quarterback for the Panthers but took his first career loss in a 51-13 blowout defeat against San Francisco. He also threw the first three interceptions of his career. Allen will have to be on guard against the Titans, who forced four turnovers last week against Tampa Bay and are tied for second in the NFL with a plus-7 turnover margin.

Green Bay (7-1) at L.A. Chargers (3-5)

Matt Lafleur is off to quite a start with the Packers, becoming the 19th NFL head coach and first since Jim Harbaugh in 2011 to win at least seven of his first eight games.

Aaron Rodgers has been doing his usual: two straight games with 300-plus passing yards, three-plus passing touchdowns and no interceptions. Aaron Jones has been a huge factor: He was the only player in the league in October to post 250 or more yards rushing and 250 or more yards receiving.

The Chargers are struggling on offense, even with the return of Melvin Gordon, so coach Anthony Lynn made a change by firing coordinator Ken Whisenhunt.

Tampa Bay (2-5) at Seattle (6-2)

The Seahawks are looking to start 7-2 or better for the fifth time, and they'll face a Buccaneers team that's concluding a six-week stretch in which it hasn't played a game in its home stadium.

Jameis Winston is coming off his fourth game with 300 or more yards passing for Tampa Bay, but he also has 10 turnovers in his last two outings.

Russell Wilson leads the NFL with 17 touchdown passes this season, with only one INT. He'll also tie guard Chris Gray for the franchise record with 121 consecutive starts.

Houston (5-3) vs Jacksonville (4-4)

The Texans are making their first trip to London, but Wembley Stadium has been a home-away-fromjacksonville for the Jaguars, who are playing there for the seventh consecutive year.

Deshaun Watson is the first player in NFL history with at least 15 TD passes and five rushing scores in his team's first eight games of season. The Texans won't have J.J. Watt on defense, though, after he was lost for the season last week with a torn pectoral.

Minshew Mania remains alive and well for the Jaguars, with quarterback Gardner Minshew leading rookies with 13 TD passes and a 98.8 quarterback rating. He has had a productive supporting cast around him with Leonard Fournette leading the AFC with 791 yards rushing, and wide receiver DJ Chark tied for the league lead with six touchdown catches.