There’s a difference between explosive and inevitable. Lamar Jackson was explosive in 2024. But Josh Allen was inevitable. When the dust settled and the MVP votes came in, it wasn’t the guy with the flashiest box scores or the slickest highlight reels that won; it was the quarterback who refused to die. Who stared down injuries, carried Buffalo through the storm, and threw haymakers from September through January. Allen didn’t just beat Jackson. He outlasted, outwilled, and out-fought him. However, the Ravens‘ QB suffered a defeat again on June 27.

It came in the Go Long‘s list of Top 30 QBs of the Super Bowl era. Jackson landed at number 29 on the quarterback list, fourteen spots behind Allen. That gap is telling. Because Josh Allen has done what Lamar is still trying to do. Not just change minds. But change outcomes. They defined Allen’s fearlessness as the defining factor between the two QBs.

The Bills‘ QB is number 15 on the list. And no quarterback has willed a sad franchise to relevance the way Allen has in Buffalo. He was raw coming out of Wyoming. Wild with his mechanics. But all that fearlessness. All that stubborn belief, it worked. Now, the Bills are title contenders every year. Because Allen refuses to be anything else.

Lamar has been dazzling. No one denies that. His legs are still a nightmare for coordinators. His deep ball is better than he gets credit for. But the playoffs have not been kind. There is always something missing, a missed throw, a stalled drive. Or just silence when the moment demands more.

Last year, Josh Allen threw for 3,731 yards, with 28 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, and added 531 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns, finishing second in QBR at 77.3 (tying Jackson for an NFL best). On the other hand, Lamar Jackson led the league with 4,172 passing yards, 41 touchdowns, only 4 interceptions, and rushed for 915 yards with 4 rushing scores, earning a top-QBR of 77.3. But they awarded Allen the MVP. Why? It’s because the Bills’ QB received 27 first-place votes and 383 points, while the Ravens’ star had 23 first-place votes and 362 points.

We all know that Lamar is still writing his story. He is not done. But Allen is already etching himself into the AFC stone. That is why the list gives Allen the edge. Not just because of stats or style. But because of moments. Big ones. The ones that define quarterbacks forever. But they have always treated each other with respect and admiration.

Moments when Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson praised each other

When the Bills edged out the Ravens in the 2021 Divisional Round, it was all respect afterwards. “He is one of the greatest dudes you can be around,” Allen told NBC Sports after the game. “I root heavily for him, how humble, how awesome he is off the field.” That wasn’t locker room PR.

It was a quarterback who just won a slugfest, tipping his cap to the guy across from him, a guy who changed the game and made every defense nervous the second he touches the ball. Lamar Jackson returned the respect in full. “People are always just talking about Josh and his big arm, but he’s doing it all out there,” Jackson said in January 2021.

“Hats off to Josh because he’s been doing it since his rookie season.” Jackson knows the grind. He’s heard the doubters. And in Allen, he sees another quarterback who silenced them. The fact that Lamar, an MVP himself, so openly praised Allen’s complete game says more than any stat line.

Fast forward to 2025. After a heartbreaker in the playoffs, Jackson approached Allen at midfield and dropped a mic’d-up moment that shook fans. “Go win something. Do something. MVP or Super Bowl,” he told Allen. These two aren’t fighting for headlines; they’re pulling each other toward greatness. Two quarterbacks, two franchises, and one deep, real-time appreciation for what the other is building.