Stage is set for Ravens' Lamar Jackson to face Bills' Josh Allen in divisional playoff at Buffalo

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- — Baltimore coach John Harbaugh has enjoyed the fortune of competing on the NFL’s biggest stages to appreciate the setting and magnitude of what’s on the line for the Ravens and Bills in Buffalo on Sunday.

There's the quarterback matchup pitting arguably the NFL’s two leading MVP candidates in Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen.

These are two division champions with a combined 27 wins two steps from a Super Bowl berth.

Even the forecast of frigid conditions — temperatures are expected to dip below 10 Fahrenheit (minus-12 Celsius) — enters the equation as the third-seeded Ravens (13-5) travel to face the Bills (14-4) in the divisional playoff round.

“I can just kind of picture John Facenda coming down from the heavens and narrating the preview to the game,” Harbaugh said, referring to the late NFL Films narrator whose deep, resonant voice brought gravitas to the league’s classic showdowns. “It’s a privilege to be a part of a game like this.”

The quarterback matchup alone is worthy of the weeklong hype and prime-time setting involving two dual threats, both selected in the first round of the 2018 draft, and the focus of a high-pitched debate over who is more valuable to their respective team.

“That’s why you play this game to be in moments like these,” said Allen, before playing down the individual aspect of facing Jackson. “In the history of football, I’ve never really played against another quarterback.”

The 28-year-old Allen topped 40 combined touchdowns for a fifth consecutive year while overseeing an offense that was the NFL’s first to score 30 touchdowns both passing and rushing.

The 28-year-old Jackson, similarly, refused to make it personal.

“Excuse me for everybody watching, but I really don’t care who’s watching,” Jackson said of facing Allen. “We really don’t care how people feel about it. We’re trying to go in there and just win.”

Jackson combined for a career-best 45 touchdowns, led the league in numerous passing categories while running an offense that was the NFL’s first to top 4,000 yards passing and 3,000 yards rushing.

What still sticks with Jackson is how his last visit to Buffalo ended in a 17-3 loss in the 2020 divisional round, with Taron Johnson sealing the win with a 101-yard interception return.

“Hell, yes,” Jackson said. “That’s all I’m going to say about that.”

In Buffalo, there’s an underlying theme of redemption, too, after the Ravens trampled the Bills in a 35-10 win in Week 4.

The Bills are challenged in finding a way to slow Derrick Henry, who had a season-best 199 yards rushing against them in September, including an 87-yard touchdown run on the Ravens first offensive snap.

"I think we’re a lot better,” said Johnson, one of three Bills defensive starters who are set to play after being sidelined against Baltimore in September. “This it’s a new day. Things are just going to be different. That’s just the way they are.”

The Ravens' test is understanding how Buffalo's offense has adapted while gaining a more balanced identity.

Running back James Cook matched Henry with 16 TD runs this season — 13 of them after Week 5. Buffalo also features the addition of receiver Amari Cooper, who was acquired in a trade in mid-October and provides another weapon to a passing attack that had 13 players with a touchdown catch.

“We are obviously two very different teams than we were whenever that game was,” Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton said. “The biggest thing we take away from that is that it can be done, we just have to replicate that success. But I know Buffalo has a sour taste in their mouth about that game.”

Sour, indeed.

Defensive tackle DaQuan Jones immediately turned his attention to facing Baltimore after Buffalo’s 31-7 wild-card win over Denver on Sunday.

“It’s gonna be a bloodbath,” Jones said. “It’s just a mindset thing. At the end of the day, you just have to have the right mindset to go into any game to be physical in order to dominate.”

Historic run

The Ravens continue to raise the bar for their running game, which set a regular-season record with 5.76 yards per attempt. The previous mark lasted six decades after the 1963 Browns averaged 5.74.

In eight career playoff games, Henry has surpassed 150 yards rushing four times. That’s tied with Hall of Famer Terrell Davis for the most in NFL postseason history.

Second fiddles

These are two teams who have spent the previous four years playing second fiddle in the AFC to the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals.

In that time, Buffalo has been eliminated by Kansas City three times and Cincinnati once. The Ravens' last two playoff losses came in the 2022 wild-card round against Cincinnati, and last year's conference championship game to Kansas City.

Citing Heraclitus

Bills edge rusher Von Miller was inspired by linebacker Terrel Bernard citing Greek philosopher Heraclitus in discussing how the past doesn’t repeat itself because the world is ever-changing.

“He was saying that the man gets in the river once and the next time he gets in the river, it’s not the same man, and it’s not the same river. The past is the past,” Miller said. “We have a huge opportunity in front of us to go out there and achieve all of our dreams.”

A kick away?

Both teams' kickers experienced inconsistencies this season.

In his 13th season, Baltimore's Justin Tucker was good on a career-worst 73.3% of his field-goal attempts while going 22 of 30, including 6 of 11 from 50 yards or longer. He also missed two extra-point attempts.

Buffalo's Tyler Bass closed his fifth season going 24 of 29 in field-goal attempts for a second straight year, while missing a career-worst five extra-point tries.

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AP Sports Writer Noah Trister contributed.

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