Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen meet on Sunday Night Football chasing a Super Bowl victory to underline legacy

Fair or not, the best of the best are often measured by one thing: how many rings they won in their career.

When it comes to Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, two generational talents, the only thing missing in their trophy case is a Lombardi Trophy.

MVPs, All-Pros, Pro Bowls—they’ve checked all the boxes. But without a ring, they can’t quite break into the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks.

Just ask Dan Marino. He was as generational as they come, but is never considered to be in the S-tier of all-time quarterbacks because he never won a championship.

That’s the way it goes. Yes, sports discourse has evolved in the year 2025, and we know there is so much more that goes beyond winning a title, but ring culture will never go away.

It’s what separates the Marinos from the Joe Montanas.

And right now, it’s Patrick Mahomes who seems to be collecting ring after ring at the expense of both Allen and Jackson.

In a talkSPORT exclusive, Brian T. Smith asked ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano which of the two ringless QBs needs a Super Bowl more to cement their legacy.

“I would say Lamar Jackson,” Graziano answered. “It’s a flip of the coin, but the reason I say Lamar Jackson is because the commentary on Lamar Jackson since before he was drafted was can you win with a quarterback who plays this style?

“Is he going to evolve as a pocket passer to a great enough extent that he can deliver at a high level and win you championships.

“If he were to win the Super Bowl, then I think there’s nothing anyone can ever say again, right? You can now say, yeah, you can win with him.

“Maybe he’s special, maybe you can’t usually win with a guy like that, but he’s that good. Maybe the NFL needs to start thinking about these things a little differently. 

Getty

Getty

“They both need it, they both need to get past Patrick Mahomes, but I would say Lamar Jackson.”

Jackson is 0-1 in the playoffs against Mahomes, losing at home in the 2023 AFC championship game.

Meanwhile, it’s been much worse for Allen. He is 0-4 in the playoffs against Mahomes, including losing to him twice in the AFC championship.

In fact, the only quarterbacks in the AFC that have beaten Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs are Tom Brady and Joe Burrow.

Jackson and Allen have continually fallen short with their MVP careers already littered with agonizing postseason defeats.

One guy’s legacy is already cemented as the greatest of all-time with seven rings to show, while Burrow is still looking for his first. He was close in 2021, coming up just short, but it’s fair to wonder what a ring would do for his legacy as well.

However, the sole focus here is on Allen and Jackson as they are set to face off in a massive Week 1 showdown on Sunday Night Football to begin the season.

A game that will surely have major implications come January.

For what it’s worth, Jackson and Allen are 3-3 against one another in their career, but the Bills star has the upper hand, as two of his three wins have come in the postseason.

The two talents will once again lock horns and gear up for another long season. Will Allen win back-to-back MVPs? Will Jackson win his third?

If you ask either quarterback what they care about at this point in their careers, they’ll tell you the same thing.

That’s the confetti raining down on their faces in triumph as they hoist the Lombardi Trophy

Stay up to date with the latest from the NFL across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for news, exclusive interviews and more.