The NFL playoffs are underway, and the quarterbacks involved are certainly impressive.
While each of the remaining postseason passers has his own unique skill set, many of them share a major, nonsports-related bond: faith.
Here’s what some of the league’s top arm talents have said about their religious beliefs and relationship with God.
Lamar Jackson
Two-time league MVP Lamar Jackson has never been shy about praising God.
As dynamic as he is on the field, the Baltimore Ravens quarterback is just as outspoken about faith off of it. He often takes to social media to discuss his beliefs.
“Lord God, you will be with us when we take a stand for you in faith,” Jackson posted to the platform formerly known as Twitter in September 2023. “When we defy the world’s standards and refuse to fit in with the surrounding culture, we may pay a price. But we, like Daniel’s three friends, must resolve not to bow to idols even if you do not rescue us from resultant suffering or even death. But we know that you can always deliver us and trust you will work all things together for our good.”
This season, Jackson posted career highs in passing for 4,172 yards while scoring 45 total touchdowns for the division champion Ravens, who take on Buffalo Sunday night for a chance to play in the franchise’s sixth conference title game.
After signing a five-year, $260 million contract extension with the Ravens in 2023, the former Heisman Trophy winner made sure to emphasize that his career success and subsequent payday would have never been possible without God.
“I kept him first at all times, no matter what I went through,” Jackson said. “I just kept my faith in him, and now we’re here.”
Patrick Mahomes
Patrick Mahomes is the undisputed face of the NFL, but he feels a higher purpose driving his on-field accomplishments.
“Obviously I want to win every game, but I’m glorifying (God) every single time I’m out there,” Mahomes said prior to his first Super Bowl appearance in 2020. “As long as I’m doing everything the right way and the way that he would want me to do it, then I can walk off the field with my head held high and be able to be the man that I am.”
The three-time Super Bowl champion has been known to dedicate two hours of his pregame routine to prayer, continuing this ritual into each of his playoff runs with the Kansas City Chiefs.
When battling injuries during the 2023 postseason, Mahomes credited heavenly help with giving him the strength to press forward amid the pain. He told CBS Sports that God “healed my body” after defeating the Bengals in the AFC championship game.
Following their first round bye, Mahomes and the Chiefs will host C.J. Stroud’s Houston Texans in Saturday’s divisional round action. Two more wins would put Kansas City back in the Super Bowl for the fifth time in six years.
“My Christian faith plays a role in everything I do. I mean, I always ask God to lead me in the right direction and let me be who I am for his name,” Mahomes said before the Super Bowl festivities in 2023. “It has a role in everything I do and obviously, he’ll be on the huge stage in the Super Bowl that he’s given me and I want to make sure I’m glorifying him while I do it.”
Josh Allen
Josh Allen didn’t always think of himself as particularly religious, but having a front-row seat to what many saw as a miracle proved life-changing for the Buffalo Bills superstar.
Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin’s on-field cardiac arrest in 2023 put the Bills in the worldwide spotlight, as players and fans united in prayer in hopes of keeping Hamlin alive.
Both the widespread display of faith and Hamlin’s miraculous recovery were deeply moving for Allen.
“It was kind of a spiritual awakening, really, for me,” Allen said on the “Kyle Brandt’s Basement” podcast in January 2023. “It’s something I’ve never felt before. It’s something that I know a lot of my teammates have never felt before, and you can’t do anything about it but accept it and lean on your brothers and share that moment with them.”
The former Wyoming quarterback passed for two touchdowns and accounted for 318 total yards in a Sunday wild card victory over Denver.
While Allen’s Bills are hungry for a Super Bowl victory, no moment will ever be as emotional for the team as taking the field for the first time in January 2023 following Hamlin’s incident. In that game, the Bills returned the game’s opening kickoff for a 96-yard touchdown that continued to fan Allen’s spiritual flame.
“I was going around with my teammates saying, ‘God is real,’” Allen said. “You can’t draw that one up, write that one up any better. I’ve never been struck like that before — from a play, from an experience, from an emotion — it’s never hit me that way before.
“I’ll be the first to admit, like, I haven’t been the most devoted Christ follower in my life. I’ve had my different beliefs and thoughts and ideas and stuff like that, but something got ahold of me there and it was extremely powerful that, you know, I couldn’t deny it.”
Jayden Daniels
Jayden Daniels has enjoyed arguably the NFL’s greatest rookie season of all time.
The No. 2 overall draft selection in 2024 has become a hero in Washington, leading the Commanders to their most wins since 1991 and the franchise’s first playoff victory in 19 years.
Daniels isn’t interested in receiving credit for his accomplishments, however, choosing instead to glorify God when given the opportunity.
“Trust in the Lord God,” Daniels said following his team’s dramatic 23-20 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday. “There’s nothing I should worry about, man. I put all my worries on Him, (and) He’ll take care of the rest.”
Daniels and Washington escaped the Buccaneers thanks to a last second field goal and will now head to Detroit to face the top-seeded Lions.
No strangers to chaos, the Commanders have won a number of tight games at the buzzer, including with a now-legendary Hail Mary touchdown pass from Daniels against the Bears back in October. Daniels credited God with making the moment possible, as he fought through a rib injury to remain on the field.
“Nothing but God, man. Nothing but God,” Daniels said. “Without Him, I don’t even think I’d be playing this week. All glory to God,”
C.J. Stroud
C.J. Stroud continues to make history.
The youngest quarterback to ever win a playoff game, Stroud became just the sixth QB to capture a playoff victory in each of their first two seasons on Saturday, upsetting the Los Angeles Chargers this past weekend in 32-12 fashion.
Amid all the hype, Stroud has still made an effort to use his platform to share his religious beliefs.
“A lot of people don’t get to live the life I do,” Stroud said in a postgame press conference on Sept. 17, 2023. “It’s hard, don’t get me wrong. It’s hard, but it’s a privilege, man … I try to do my best to thank God through all that because (of) his grace and His mercy.”
Stroud has thrown for 43 touchdowns with only 17 interceptions in his first two NFL campaigns, elevating the Texans from the cellar of their division.
Houston will now head to Kansas City in hopes of knocking off the Chiefs to advance to the franchise’s first-ever AFC championship game.
“(Christ) laid his life on the cross for us. I really believe that,” Stroud said in 2023. “This is bigger than just ball, and if I have to use football for my purpose — to spread the Gospel and the life of Jesus Christ — then I’ll do that. And I think that’s what God wants.”
Jalen Hurts
Jalen Hurts has had a rather interesting football journey, but he’s learned to “lean on” God amid the storms of life.
“I really lean on Him and I try to keep Him in the center of everything that I do, because I know without God, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Hurts said prior to playing in the Super Bowl in 2023. “I wouldn’t be the man I am today without having that faith in Him, without integrity and leadership and diligence and all those things.”
Hurts and his Philadelphia Eagles rallied from early tension this season to win 14 games, the NFC East title and their opening playoff game against Green Bay.
The fifth year QB has accounted for 34 total touchdowns thus far and looks to defeat the Los Angeles Rams in order to advance to the NFC championship game.
“I think the biggest thing is you get so influenced by so much around you, you just want to pray that you’re the person that God calls you to be,” Hurts said. “So that’s what I’m gonna do — be what God called me to be.”
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
