Lamar Jackson, Cam Newton in spotlight as Pats host Ravens

FOXBOROUGH, MASS. (AP) » Lamar Jackson and Cam Newton don’t know each other well on a personal level.

It didn’t stop the Patriots quarterback from reaching out to his Ravens counterpart and reigning NFL MVP recently on social media.

“He hit me up,” Jackson said this week.

Did the veteran Newton pass along any advice to the 23-yearold?

“Not really,” Jackson said. “Just game recognizes game. He’s the ‘O.G.’ He’s Superman.”

Old school and new school will collide Sunday night when New England (3-5) hosts Baltimore (62). A creative and mobile quarterback with a huge arm to match, Jackson’s NFL rise shares similarities to Newton’s.

Newton burst onto the football national landscape as a junior at

Auburn in 2010, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound one-man show who threw for 30 touchdowns and ran for 20 more while leading the Tigers to a 14- 0 record and national title onhisway to claiming the Heisman Trophy.

Six years later a similar spotlight shined on Jackson as a sophomore atLouisville, when hepassedfor 30touchdowns, rushed for 21 and also earnedHeismanhonors.

“I’ve watched Cam since Auburn. Everyone in the country did. Everyone knew about Cam— Superman — doing his thing,” Jackson said. “A lot of us looked up tohim. ... I followedhimalot. Wanted to get to where he’s at, and now I’m here. Now I’ve got to play against him. Just can’t wait to do that.”

Sunday’smatchup will be a role reversal of sorts between the pair.

In their only previous meeting in 2018, Newton beat theRavenswhenhewas with Carolina, though Jackson was still waiting for his turn behind Joe Flacco and played sparingly.