Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is staring down a tough test on Sunday in the Divisional round against the Baltimore Ravens.
The two quarterbacks getting the most heat this postseason are Allen and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson.
Both quarterbacks are in their 7th NFL season, and neither has reached the Super Bowl after so many opportunities.
Jackson is a winner of two NFL MVPs, while Allen looks to be claiming his first at the season’s end. Outside of the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, these are the only three signal callers that can go toe-to-toe with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Burrow is the only current quarterback to beat Mahomes in the playoffs, but Allen and Jackson have been right at the doorstep.
Everyone around the NFL world has been waiting for either Jackson or Allen to break through and take down Mahomes, but only one will get a chance this postseason.
Kansas City will take on the Houston Texans on Saturday, and if they win, they will return to the AFC title game, where they will be looking at Allen or Jackson waiting for revenge.
Before either quarterback can start preparing for the Chiefs, they must come out on top this weekend. The winner will be in a great spot to reach the Super Bowl, while the loser will face a tough road.
What will happen to the 28-year-old quarterback if he loses in the Divisional round for a fourth straight season?
Josh Allen Could Turn From Manning To Marino
If Buffalo were to lose on Sunday, that would cost them their fourth straight chance of returning to the AFC Championship game, losing to Mahomes in the 2021 and 2023 seasons, Burrow in 2022, and Jackson in 2024.
Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, and Jackson all sit as the Top 4 quarterbacks in the AFC and maybe even the entire league, and if Allen is 0-4 against all of them the last four years in the most critical part of the season, it’s a terrible look.
We all know how great Allen is, and he is on track to be an NFL Hall of Famer one day, but another loss in January to another quarterback as significant as him could be a crucial turning point in his career.
Let’s say the Bills lose to the Ravens, and then they go on to beat Kansas City and play for a Super Bowl.
No matter the game’s outcome, Jackson, Burrow, and Mahomes would all have Super Bowl appearances without Allen sniffing the big game.
You would have to drop Allen 4th in the NFL quarterback rankings because what you do in the postseason matters the most, and he would have nothing to show.
The NFL is way too hard of a league to win a Super Bowl, and either Burrow, Jackson, or Allen will likely never get to hold the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Just ask former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, who went to the Super Bowl in his 2nd season, lost to the San Francisco 49ers, and never returned.
Marino is known as the best quarterback in Super Bowl history, never to win the big game, and one of Burrow, Allen, or Jackson will most likely join him in that argument in the next decade.
The Bills and Allen Still Have Time
The good news is that Allen’s career is still young. He will be turning 29 this May, so he could have another ten years to win a ring. However, if he has fallen short in the first seven years, why would anyone believe he could finish it in the next five to seven seasons?
A loss on Sunday could turn Allen from being this generation’s Peyton Manning to this generation’s Philip Rivers, who never reached a Super Bowl in his 17-year career.
On the other hand, if the Bills win over the Ravens, all the pressure and heat will go toward Jackson. He will be looked at as the guy who can’t get out of his way come the postseason because he would have two postseason losses to Allen, one to Mahomes, a loss to the Chargers in his rookie season that shouldn’t go against him, and a horrible loss to Ryan Tannehill and the Tennessee Titans.
Buffalo needs to find a way to beat Baltimore, and then some pressure can fall off Allen’s shoulders.
Next week won’t be easy if the Bills have to play the Chiefs since Mahomes has been the biggest obstacle standing in Buffalo’s way the last five years.
Allen can relax knowing he got the win over Jackson, and if somehow the Bills lose to the Chiefs again, it’s not that big of a deal since only one active quarterback has taken down Mahomes in the postseason since he came into the league eight years ago.
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