In the age of dynasties, it's up to the other teams to topple them on their road to a championship. The Baltimore Ravens have known that well over the past 20 years. First, they were trying to catch the New England Patriots, and now the Kansas City Chiefs.
In both instances, their quarterbacks were under a lot of pressure to beat the dynasties to win a title. Previously, Joe Flacco was heavily scrutinized until he reached the top and beat New England in the AFC Championship to do it. Now, Lamar Jackson faces the same critics and is on a mission to beat Kansas City. However, he isn't the only one in the AFC with that mission.
That would be his 2018 NFL Draft counterpart and the man who beat him out for the 2024 NFL MVP—Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Allen and Jackson are both electrifying quarterbacks. Their MVPs speak for themselves. However, in the AFC, they both live in the shadow of Patrick Mahomes and his success. The question becomes who will beat Mahomes first and get their long-sought Super Bowl. The other question is: who is under the most pressure of the two to do it?
For years, the consensus seemed to be Jackson, especially since Allen has been a better postseason quarterback overall. Jackson has improved in the playoffs over the last two years. CBS writer Jeff Kerr believes it's Buffalo's quarterback who needs to get over the hump the most. Jackson is placed at No. 2 on his list. Kerr writes about Jackson:
"The NFL's all-time rushing yards leader for quarterbacks (6,173), Jackson is the only player with multiple MVP awards who doesn't have a championship. His struggles in the postseason are well known, as Jackson is 3-5 with 13 total touchdowns and 11 turnovers in his playoff career."
"Jackson's .745 win percentage is the best ever by a quarterback without a Super Bowl title, as he has multiple turnovers in four of eight playoff games. He's the only multiple-time MVP quarterback with a losing record in the playoffs, as the Ravens average 18.6 points per game in Jackson's starts in the playoffs compared to 28.7 in the regular season."
"The Ravens have only been to one conference championship game in the Jackson era, as Jackson has never had a season with multiple playoff wins. For as good as Jackson and the Ravens have been in the regular season, the opposite has happened in the playoffs."
"Baltimore has 78 wins over the last seven seasons, the most for any team without a Super Bowl appearance in NFL history. The pressure will always be on Jackson until he can lead the Ravens to a Super Bowl. "
As for Allen, Kerr says:
"How close does Josh Allen have to get to win a Super Bowl? For as good as Allen has been in the playoffs, he still hasn't been able to defeat Mahomes and the Chiefs. Allen actually has a winning record in the playoffs (7-6) with 33 total touchdowns to just six turnovers. Over his last five playoff games, Allen has 13 total touchdowns to zero turnovers."
"So why is there so much pressure on Allen? The Bills can't get past the Chiefs in the playoffs, no matter how well Allen plays. There are other factors outside of Allen, who has the most playoff wins without reaching a Super Bowl (seven). The Bills just can't get out of their own way, and that includes Allen failing to convert a quarterback sneak on a "Tush Push" on fourth down in a conference championship game."
"Allen has put the Bills in position to win a championship. Once Buffalo gets past Kansas City, the Bills may be on their way toward finally hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy. There's so much pressure on Allen when he plays the Chiefs, which is why he's under more pressure than any quarterback to win in 2025."
Between Jackson and Allen, Jackson holds the advantage in MVPs, 2–1. However, Allen has him beat with more playoff wins and the overall head-to-head, including two playoff wins over Jackson. The race to see who gets their first title will be interesting to watch over the next few seasons. For now, Allen has the most pressure on him to win a ring. Hopefully that gives Lamar some sense of peace.