Josh Allen's Buffalo Bills, Lamar Jackson's Baltimore Ravens and a meeting of the NFL's nearly men, who for all their generational talent have so often seen their Super Bowl dreams blunted by Patrick Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs dynasty. That is providing Jackson does in fact make his return from an injury that has sidelined him for the past three weeks; either way, it remains a story of parallels and a mutual Arrowhead enemy. One might rightly point to the demise of Andy Reid's side in recent years, but were it not for the Chiefs' monopoly on the AFC for much of the last decade then one of Allen or Jackson - maybe even both - would be proud owners of a ring with which to complement their MVP accolades.
Since 2020, Buffalo have lost twice in the AFC Championship Game and four times in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, four of those defeats coming against the Chiefs. In the same period, Baltimore have twice lost to the Bills in the Divisional Round as well as falling to the Chiefs at the 2023 AFC Championship Game. The Bills (5-1) host the Ravens (4-3) this weekend, live on Sky Sports, in the latest collision of two perennial contenders all-too familiar with final hurdle stumbles.
The Bills have toppled the Ravens on three straight occasions at home, the latest being last season's Week One thriller as Buffalo scored 16 unanswered points in the final four minutes to overturn a 15-point deficit in their 41-40 victory. It was a game befitting of a Super Bowl stage itself. Before then the two met at the AFC Divisional Round in January 2025, when the Bills escaped with a 27-25 win following the infamous end zone drop by Mark Andrews for what would have been a game-tying two-point conversion.
Powerhouse offenses are piloted by Hall of Fame-destined quarterbacks, and yet their wait for a shot at the big dance goes on. There is an argument for there being no two players in the league greater at hiding their team's weaknesses or dictating their team's success than Allen or Jackson; they are unrivalled equalisers, game-tilting deciders. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Allen has been electric through seven weeks of the season, throwing for 1,504 yards and nine touchdowns to four interceptions with a passer rating of 102.1 while ranking second in EPA/play and fifth in success rate.
He also leads all quarterbacks with 240 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns and 23 first down runs. Nobody is better at strapping an entire organisation to their back. This Bills offense has a case for being the best he has played in, ranking third in total yards, 12th in passing, second in rushing, first in scoring, first in EPA/play, third in success rate, first in dropback and third in rush under Joe Brady, who replaced Sean McDermott as head coach in January.
It isn't all Allen, either. James Cook remains the perfect backfield partner to his quarterback as Brady's trusted jab with which to tee up his play-action haymaker, amassing a third-most 627 yards and six touchdowns at 104.5 yards per game from 117 carries. But we have been here before.
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