You will not be wrong if you call it the hottest matchup of the NFL. After all, Sunday’s AFC divisional matchup between the Bills and the Ravens brings two of the league’s best QBs, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen against each other. And if there is anything that is further fueling the heat, it is the freezing Buffalo weather! Yes, you read that right. Because the Bills are just too proud of their cold advantage. “When it’s too cold for them, it’s just right for us,” Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy would say to rally the Buffalo Bills before a wintry playoff game. Too cold.. literally that is what the Ravens and Jackson will be left to battle at the Highmark Stadium.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo forecast calls for about 16 degrees at kickoff, but a wind chill temperature of roughly 8 degrees, with both gradually declining through the duration of the game. There’s a 50% precipitation potential beginning at 7 p.m. with a chance of snow throughout. And believe us, the Bills love it. “Playing here in our stadium is one of the hardest environments to play in, especially in the playoffs. Think it’s about to be 8 degrees. Hopefully 40 mph winds and 3 feet of snow. That’s what I want,” the Bills offensive lineman Spencer Brown said. Having grown up in South Florida, that is surely bad news for Jackson no? Hold on for a sec.

Jackson might not like cold, but he is not afraid of that either. He has a 3-1 record in games that kicked off at 32 degrees or below. That includes last week’s wild-card playoff victory against the Steelers and Week 18 against the Browns. However, the point is that the coldest games Jackson has played were 27 degrees at kickoff — in Kansas City in 2018 and last year at home against the Texans. Also, for the remaining Ravens squad, it is probably their chilliest game ever. So they had to do whatever they could to prepare for the upcoming situation. No, they did not go out in the frozen fields for practice, but rather did just the opposite!

Ravens HC John Harbaugh had a chilly revelation this week. According to it, the Fields are too frozen and hard to practice on, therefore the Ravens shifted to the indoor practice arena on Wednesday to prepare for the game. The Ravens left the garage door open and lit industrial fans to simulate Buffalo’s cold, making their cozy workout room a wind tunnel. It’s NFL practice vs Arctic survival drills and you can almost hear the players’ shivers in between plays.

“We got it as cold as we can in here right now, and it will be even colder tomorrow (Thursday), when I get all the water shut off in here so the pipes don’t freeze,” Harbaugh said, via the team’s website. “So we’ll have it cold. Would love to be outside, but we just can’t. The fields are too hard and they’re too frozen.” In Owing Mills, Maryland, the temperature was around 30 degrees. Harbaugh also added the Ravens need to find their footing on the synthetic turf at Highmark Stadium which gets more slippery in cold conditions. But will there be any special gear that Jackson will look to put on to prevent the cold?

As Jackson stated, he would not wear gloves. “No. I tried that in practice, [and] I was horrible,” Jackson said, via Ryan Mink of the team website. “I’ll leave that up to ‘Teddy two gloves,’ Teddy Bridgewater. Shoutout to Teddy. Hopefully, we’ll have some heaters on the sideline. [I’ll have] a bigger jacket probably. I have to talk to [head equipment manager] Kenico [Hines] to see what he has going on. The equipment guys – they pretty much do a great job, so we should be good.” Notably, he had worn a hood under his helmet and winter hat on the sideline when the Ravens beat the Bills in 60-degree weather in September.

But Jackson seems unbothered about the weather and all he means is business. “It really doesn’t matter,” he said. “I can’t go into a game and say, ‘It’stoo cold out, I can’t make things happen.’ Coach would probably send me home.” Jackson and MVP-rival Allen have been electrifying 2024 as their teams head to a divisional-round playoff game after what’s been a long-awaited playoff appearance.

Lamar went up to a sky-high total: 316 of 474 (66.7%) for 4,172 yards, 41 touchdowns versus just 4 interceptions, and a league-high 119.6 passer rating. And, oh yeah, and, if that wasn’t enough, he ran for 915 yards on 139 plays (6.6 yards per carry) with 4 rushing touchdowns — because getting big by passing just isn’t his thing.

On the other end, Josh Allen was a classic blend of arm-poisoned and brute force, throwing 307 of 483 passes (63.6%) for 3,731 yards, 28 TDs, and 6 picks for a 101.4 passer rating. But Allen’s real flex? Destroying defenses with his legs, 531 rushing yards on 102 runs (5.2 per rush) and a crazy 12 rushing touchdowns. And though Jackson discarded the weather factor, Allen might really be looking for a freezing temperature. Because history favors him here.

Allen is 13-3 playing in below-freezing temperatures, and 4-0 below 20 degrees. That includes a flawless performance three years ago in the wild-card playoff victory against the Patriots (47-17) when kickoff temperature was 7 degrees and wind chill was near 0. It remains to be seen how the weather factors play out, but these two MVP-level QBs have made the gridiron their backyard this year, and this matchup is more Hollywood sequel than football.

Ravens Vs Bills: An MVP showdown for the ages

There’s a game day forecast for wind chills of under zero. Small flurries of snow are possible during the match as well, but they are going to be hammered cuz his game is going to be hot. It’s the MVP candidates: Lamar Jackson vs. Josh Allen. The Ravens are 13-5 and off to be an ebullient season thanks to Jackson’s 4,172 YDS, 41 touchdowns, and a never-ending appetite for win. Derrick Henry, the Ravens’ bulldozing running back, has been no worse, slipping through defenses for 704 rushing yards through six games, in Lamar’s words himself “When Lightning McQueen gets flying, flashing past, like ‘pshew, pshew’ … that’s how Derrick [Henry] go.” and then there’s Baltimore’s defense which had been a palace so far this season allowing 17.5 points per contest.

Oh, let’s not forget the Buffalo Bills and their Super Bowl drama, the greatest loss playlist in the world on repeat. Four straight trips to the big game in the early 1990s, not a single victory in between. Remember the nerve-wracking game in 1991 with the Giants, only one point down (wide right anyone?). Then came the Redskins in 1992, and boy, they gave fans hope. And, as if all that wasn’t enough, Dallas even kicked it in with blowouts in ’93 and ’94. Four Super Bowls, four L’s. No one wants that legacy, but who knows, maybe 2025 will be the year they flip the script? Or are we lining up another sad ballad?

This season 14-4 Bills have Josh Allen, the two-man beast who’s thrown for 3,731 YDS, and 28 TDs & and his go-to target Stefon Diggs has 496 YDS and 3 TDs, and they’re one of the most lethal combos in the NFL. Buffalo’s defense isn’t bad either as well, allowing only 21.6 points per game.

It was a Ravens clinic the last time these two teams met in Week 4. Derrick Henry paced the show, with 199 yards and a touchdown, and Buffalo got choked by defense that gave them only 236 Yards, and 3-for-13 on third down. The 35-10 Ravens victory got noticed and the Bills have been in the cellar ever since.

Now, it’s all or nothing for the Heavyweight match this Sunday at Highmark Stadium. Will Baltimore’s brisk indoor practice translate into playing time or will Josh Allen and the Bills get to the divisional championships? We don’t know yet, but what we do know is that we are in for a treat.