This weekend’s Divisional Round features four of the final seven games on the NFL schedule, culminating in Super Bowl LIX on February 9th at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in New Orleans. Undoubtedly the most anticipated game of this round, and perhaps of the season so far, will be the final game on Sunday night between the Ravens and Bills.

This game will see the two main candidates for the MVP award, in the case of Lamar Jackson it would be his second consecutive and the third in his career and for Josh Allen the first, personally I would give it to Allen this year and actually this game has nothing to do with the award but surely whoever wins the game will be the MVP. The Ravens won the game between the two teams 35-10 in week five but obviously a lot has changed since then for this game with home field now being the biggest factor for the now local Bills.

Josh Allen’s engagement to Hailee Steinfeld has Buffalo buzzing on and off the field. Following their engagement on 22 November 2024, Allen’s performance has skyrocketed, with 1,020 total yards, 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions in three games – a vast improvement on his previous stats. The Bills Mafia have embraced Steinfeld as one of their own, even dedicating a giant billboard to her, proclaiming “The Queen City has a new queen”.

Hailee, touched by the gesture, called it a “wild and very sweet surprise” in her Beau Society newsletter and praised the Buffalo community for its warmth. Fully immersed in Bills culture, she’s often seen at games wearing a custom Josh Allen jacket or shopping at Wegmans, embodying Buffalo’s down-to-earth spirit. Whether it’s Steinfeld’s influence or Allen’s peak form, the combination is working wonders. As Buffalo surges into playoff contention, fans can’t help but credit their unofficial “Queen” for adding a spark to the QB’s MVP-calibre season. But I truly believe the only thing the fans want is to see their team play in a Super Bowl again and feel the joy of victory for the first time.

This will be the second time Allen and Lamar have faced each other in the playoffs, the last first being also in Buffalo in the divisional round with the Bills winning comfortably 17-3. This game is a must-win and where some great play by the defence or special teams, where the Ravens are better, will define the winner for something of the four games, this is the closest for the bookmakers with the Ravens being favourites (-1). The prize for the winner of this game will most likely be to go to Kansas to beat a Chiefs team looking for the first three-peat in history, certainly complicated the road to the Super Bowl but hey to be champion you have to beat the best, there are no shortcuts in the NFL.