00:00between the Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills,
00:04where we have a real budding rivalry, in my opinion.
00:10I know for both of these teams, especially Buffalo,
00:13their eye is always on Kansas City.
00:17But the fact of the matter is,
00:18you have two quarterbacks in Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson
00:22who will be competing for trophies,
00:26competing for a Super Bowl, and competing for league MVP.
00:30And last year, they seemingly were in a dead heat for league MVP.
00:35It went to Josh Allen.
00:37Lamar Jackson was asked about that about a week ago.
00:41Here's what he had to say.
00:43I don't know if we ever asked you,
00:44were you disappointed at all that you didn't win the MVP?
00:47I mean, the voters chose who they wanted to pick.
00:50You know, it is what it is.
00:52I got to tell you, Joe, that little clip there, it's quick.
00:58People might say, that's nothing.
01:00The phrase, they chose who they wanted to,
01:03with a little smile from Lamar Jackson,
01:06probably tells me in his heart of hearts,
01:08he believes he should have three MVPs sitting at home.
01:12But I think both Lamar and Josh would tell you,
01:16take the MVPs and just get me to the Super Bowl.
01:22It is, it is so, you cannot overstate for these two quarterbacks
01:29who feel like they have consistently knocked on this door,
01:33knowing that it's a guarantee one of them won't make the Super Bowl.
01:37We may end up in a situation where neither does again.
01:41And now you have a spot where one of them will start 0-1 at the hand of the other.
01:46It's a rematch of the playoff loss, right?
01:48The playoff win, depending upon who you had, Buffalo and Baltimore.
01:52I think when you look at this matchup,
01:54they're going to have to erase this in the postseason, right?
01:57And nothing that they do tonight is going to elevate them
02:01to the likes of Pat Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
02:04But they'll be close, and they'll be on their way, potentially, to an MVP award.
02:09But I would push back on Lamar with that statement and say,
02:14two years ago, he basically got the award
02:16because they were the number one seed in the AFC.
02:19His numbers weren't dynamic the way they were last year.
02:23And they gave him the award, right?
02:25So it's a give and take.
02:27At times, it's a media award that people perceive who is the most,
02:33I want to say, glorified quarterback or player in the league.
02:38And it comes down to he's dynamic, and we know Lamar can play.
02:42But the questions remain in the postseason.
02:45Same thing for Josh.
02:46If they go up against Pat Mahomes today in a playoff situation, home or away,
02:52neither one of these quarterbacks have got it done against the Kansas City Chiefs.
02:56I would push back and say, I have more confidence in Joe Burrow
03:00in a playoff situation than I do Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson against the Chiefs.
03:06Well, Burrow has at least been able to get it done against Kansas City.
03:10And that's one of the things that has continued to lift up Burrow
03:13in those conversations, despite missing the playoffs for two straight seasons.
03:17For Buffalo and Baltimore, the incredible thing is,
03:22I would say they are by far the two most popular Super Bowl picks.
03:26They are Super Bowl favorites, and in some spots, stand alone, depending on where you are looking.
03:32Any case that is made, at some point you will hear, and I don't think it's wrong,
03:36if someone's on the Ravens, Lamar is going to win a Super Bowl.
03:39Or Josh Allen is going to win a Super Bowl.
03:42That is the belief for backers.
03:45The incredible thing, though, for me, when we enter into this game here, Joe,
03:49there is not, these two are not in the same situation.
03:53Because it is Lamar Jackson's Baltimore Ravens who go to Buffalo,
03:58where the, Josh Allen has not lost a home regular season game since November 2023.
04:04We were actually here together watching the game.
04:07It was against Russell Wilson's Denver Broncos, neither here nor there.
04:12The Baltimore Ravens are favored in this game.
04:14I don't care, oh, come on, it's only a point, point and a half.
04:18Could have been a point, a point and a half the other way.
04:20The Ravens are favored in Buffalo.
04:23I hear up and down, the Ravens have the best roster in the league,
04:28regardless of what Philadelphia defending Super Bowl champs bring to the table.
04:32So, while both of these guys have a lot on the line for the full season,
04:36I think the Ravens have way more pressure on them to get the job done in week number one
04:42than the Buffalo Bills.
04:43Absolutely.
04:44Again, and that's why you're seeing them favored, I believe, minus one and a half.
04:48And with the Super Bowl price, people believe the rematch factor is real.
04:53And let's not forget, when Jalen Hurts and the Eagles played the Chiefs, right,
04:58after losing the Super Bowl, they beat them in the regular season, didn't they?
05:01They stepped up and they won that game in Arrowhead.
05:04So, that revenge factor steps up and is evident tonight.
05:09I just believe that the Bills at home are the superior team in this matchup.
05:14I think they're more complete.
05:16I have more confidence in Josh Allen, James Cook, and that team than I do Baltimore.
05:21Does this remind you a little bit of, I know it's college football, but Texas, Ohio State?
05:26To a degree.
05:27The disrespect at home in the question marks.
05:30The Ravens technically and do have the better defense, so that travels.
05:35And Derrick Henry and the rushing attack is more dominant, you can say, than Buffalo.
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