The Baltimore Ravens have an icy road to the championship round and beyond. Quite literally. Their divisional-round matchup against the Bills in Buffalo is forecast to have single-digit temperatures and a 40% chance of snow! But MVP candidates are not, cannot, and will not be afraid of such a thing. Lamar Jackson understands that no excuses will be tolerated and is determined to eliminate the need for any. After his practice session, the Ravens quarterback took some time to interact with the media.

In it, he laid out his plans to combat the cold weather: a bigger coat and heaters on the sidelines. He would do well to be prepared, especially with his prior experience traveling to Buffalo for a playoff game. The teams played the game in more favorable conditions with a temperature reading of 34 degrees.

Yet the Ravens came away with a chastening 17-3 defeat in the 2020 divisional rounds. That season was Lamar’s first taste of the postseason. He has made it a habit to enter the playoffs in 3 of the next 4 seasons. Unfortunately, he hasn’t managed to string together two wins in a single post-season thus far. That also perhaps indicates he needed to make some tweaks.

One common tweak Jackson won’t be making is wearing gloves, however. Asked about the possibility, he said “I tried (wearing gloves) in practice. I was horrible”. That’s perhaps for the best since ball control will be the deciding factor in Sunday’s showdown. Lamar has also been pushing for outdoor practice to get himself and the squad ready to face the invisible adversary in Buffalo.

He was really friendly in the press conference, with his usual smile and laid-back responses. But that all changed when a question came at him straight out of left field.

Lamar Jackson ain’t got time for that

One question asked during the interaction bewildered Lamar Jackson, to leave him puzzled. Almost as if he had heard of a concept that was alien to him. He was asked whether he hung out a lot with Josh Allen. In typical Lamar style, he laid out the facts as is. First, he stated that he and Allen had chilled together earlier in their careers. But he added that he wasn’t looking to hang out with many rivals, especially rival QBs. In his words, “We competing against each other. I’m trying to beat you. I’m not trying to be your friend.”

We don’t know what’s colder. The weather in Buffalo or Jackson taking no prisoners with his response. While the QB camaraderie (or lack of it) is well and good, the Ravens will hope one of their other superstars continues his hot streak in the cold weather. Derrick Henry brought his consistent form from the regular season to Baltimore’s wild-card game against the Steelers. He has the most rushing touchdowns this season after adding 2 in that game to his 16 from the regular season. In that game, he had 186 rushing yards from 26 carries while Lamar Jackson added 81 from 15.

Meanwhile, James Cook wasn’t far behind. He also added to his rushing touchdown tally of 16 from the regular season in the Bills‘ sweep of the Broncos. He picked up 120 yards from 23 attempts, while Allen added a further 46 from 8. It’s fun to watch these two magnificent duos light it up in the icy weather.

With the frigid temperatures influencing the style of play, Allen holds a slight advantage. He had 12 rushing touchdowns in the regular season, three times that of Jackson. Jackson’s comments about not wanting to be his friend might just fire him up enough to add to his tally in this game.

Josh Allen is used to playing in the cold. Lamar Jackson isn’t. While he’s quite efficient with his feet, he still hopes Henry has another monster game. He will need to, if the Ravens are to win two games in a single post-season for the first time since their 2012 championship. We know that Lamar Jackson will hang out with him in the off-season!