Most intriguing QB matchups for Divisional Round
Mike Florio and Peter King examine the most appealing QB matchups that standout for the Divisional Round and discuss which teams will ultimately come out on top.
Video Transcript
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MIKE FLORIO: Time for PFT on Yahoo Sports. Peter King, Mike Florio with some of the big stories in the National Football League. Big weekend for the NFL, the divisional round is upon us. And Peter, a point I made earlier today on PFT Live is we constantly look for the next Peyton Manning and Tom Brady quarterback rivalry. One of the reasons we're having a hard time finding it is there's so many great quarterbacks now, we don't need one rivalry to be the centerpiece.
And so this weekend, we're going to see some great quarterback matchups. We're going to see Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson as the Bills host the Ravens. We're going to see some other great ones, too. Which is the one that stands out to you the most?
PETER KING: The easiest one to say is Brees and Brady because it could be the last game of Brees' career, and it also could be the last game of Tom Brady's 20th season as a starter in the NFL. And, you know, and who knows what the future holds. But, by far, I'm really excited about Lamar Jackson against Josh Allen because both of these guys are babies in the game. And there's a chance, perhaps a good chance, that both will win multiple MVPs before they retire. Josh Allen's going to win one, Mike. He's probably not going to win it this year, but he is going to win one.
And the contrast in styles, I made this point in my column this week. OK, even if Lamar Jackson doesn't last and play till he's 43, I want Lamar Jackson to be the Lamar Jackson that we saw on Sunday. Take off, run, 57 yards, 77 yards, 17 yards. It doesn't matter. That is his game. And if he only lasts 13 years instead of 20, that's OK. He needs to play the Lamar Jackson way.
He's got a great arm. He doesn't have a great wide receiving corps. But he's got a great arm, and he's got even better legs. And I love this. Josh Allen can do both. You know, as I keep saying, the only shame of this is there's only going to be 6,700 people and not 67,000 in the stands to really make it one of the great atmospheres in recent NFL history.
MIKE FLORIO: And the thing about Lamar Jackson, you say it's not sustainable into his 40s, you know, people thought it wasn't sustainable into his mid 20s. That's what's amazing, that there's never been a question about his durability. He had the issue where he had to go into the locker room because he had cramps, or "cramps" as the case may be. Whatever it was, he's always available. He doesn't get injured.
He's always there, even as he throws his body into harm's way. So I have a feeling he's going to be around for a while and an exciting player and a great match up. And maybe Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson will become kind of like a Tom Brady-Peyton Manning thing.
Another reason why they're connected, they were both first round picks in 2018. And we believed after the 2019 season that Lamar Jackson, the last pick in round one, was far and away the best. Now we have the guy who was the first pick in Baker Mayfield, who is emerging again after a bad second season, and he gets together with Patrick Mahomes. Peter, these two guys in college in 2016 had a game with a final score of 66 to 59. So I don't think it's going to be anywhere close to that, but I'm very excited to see Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes in a game where the winner advances and the loser goes home.
PETER KING: Baker Mayfield has this chip on his shoulder that he doesn't mind showing us time and time and time again. He doesn't want to be the cool guy who fits in to everybody's version of what he should be. He's just going to be himself. I talked to Jarvis Landry Sunday night after their win over the Steelers, and he said, this guy just continues to overcome everything the outside world throws at him, and I agree. I give the Browns a chance in this game.
Mike, look at this. The Kansas City Chiefs have not won a game by more than a touchdown since November 1. I mean, this is not a steamrolling Chiefs team. The Browns will keep this one close.
MIKE FLORIO: And all they need at this point is either Tyreek Hill or Travis Kelce to come out and say, the Browns is the Browns. Then we'll know that the Browns are ready to take down the Chiefs. All right, that's it for PFT on Yahoo Sports. He's Peter King. I'm Mike Florio. We'll see you next time.
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