By ROB MAADDI
Lamar Jackson vs. Josh Allen won’t decide the NFL MVP next week.
The stakes are higher with a spot in the AFC championship game on the line.
Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens (13-5) will visit Allen and the Buffalo Bills (14-4) in the divisional round while Patrick Mahomes and the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (15-2) will host C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans (11-7).
The winners face off on Jan. 26 for a berth in the Super Bowl.
The Bills advanced with a 31-7 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday after the Ravens moved on with a 28-14 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night. The Texans beat the Chargers 32-12 in the opening game of wild-card weekend. The Chiefs have a bye after securing the No. 1 seed.
The AFC divisional matchups were set before the NFC games kicked off.
The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers 22-10 on Sunday afternoon to advance to the divisional round. They would face Tampa Bay if the Buccaneers beat Washington on Sunday night. If the Commanders win, they’ll play the No. 1 seed Detroit Lions. The Eagles would then play the Vikings-Rams winner. Minnesota plays Los Angeles on Monday night in Arizona.
Jackson edged Allen for The Associated Press All-Pro Team, receiving 30 of 50 first-place votes from a nationwide panel of media members. Allen got 18 first-place votes to earn second-team All-Pro honors.
The most recent time a player was MVP without making first-team All-Pro was in 2003 when Steve McNair and Peyton Manning shared the MVP award. Manning beat out McNair for All-Pro.
The only other time it happened was in 1987 when John Elway was the MVP and Joe Montana got All-Pro honors. Elway got 36 MVP votes to 18 for Montana with Jerry Rice receiving 30 votes to finish in second place.
Jackson, the two-time NFL MVP, completed 16 of 21 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns against Pittsburgh. He also ran for 81 yards on 15 carries.
Allen was 20 of 26 for 272 yards and two TDs against Denver. He ran for 46 yards.
The teams met in Baltimore in Week 4 with the Ravens dominating the Bills 35-10.
It’ll be the second time a conference’s final four teams are back two years in a row. Last year, the Chiefs defeated the Bills and the Ravens beat the Texans. It last happened in 2011-12 when the Texans, Patriots, Ravens and Broncos reached the divisional round in consecutive seasons.
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AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow contributed.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
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