The quarterback battle between Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen made the Buffalo Bills-Baltimore Ravens game the most anticipated matchup of a thrilling divisional playoff weekend. Allen and Jackson emerged as the top-two MVP candidates in 2024 after playing the best football of their careers this season, and faced off Sunday to see which great dual-threat quarterback of this generation would still get a chance at making their first Super Bowl.

Allen and the Bills ultimately prevailed. Though Allen played far from his flashiest or most prolific game, he controlled the football, rushed for two touchdowns and avoided turnovers and bone-headed mistakes, which was what his team needed in this game. Though Jackson played great all season, an interception and fumble, along with a Mark Andrews fumble and drop, helped the Bills seal the victory.

After the game, the two quarterbacks who have been endlessly compared to each other this season, shared only respect for the other in the aftermath.

Jackson, while frustrated by the loss and the Ravens’ self-inflicted wounds, reveals he told Allen, “‘Man, go get something. Go win something. MVP or Super Bowl. Do something.’ I want him to be successful.”

“Great players recognize greatness, and we both recognize each other,” Jackson said.

Allen similarly expressed great admiration for Jackson on Sunday, even running to go meet up with Jackson right after the game ended.

“I got so much respect and love for [Lamar Jackson],” Allen told Tracy Wolfson. “The way he plays the game, he’s a true competitor, he’s a true football player. One of the greatest to ever step on the football field. Nothing but love.”