NFL on CBS lead play-by-play voice Jim Nantz says he has been “daydreaming” about a potential Ravens-Bills divisional round game for weeks, and fortunately for Nantz, he will get a chance to call the matchup in frigid Orchard Park, N.Y., on Jan. 19.
Nantz figured the Bills lost their chance at the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC after falling to the Rams, 44-42, in Los Angeles back in Week 14. The longtime broadcaster also thought the Ravens would find a way to win the AFC North and secure the No. 3 seed even though they trailed the Steelers in the division for much of the year.
If the playoff picture played out like that, wins in the wild-card round would pit the Bills and Ravens against one another in the divisional round. That’s exactly what happened. Not only that, CBS landed the most highly anticipated game of the year, meaning Nantz will be on the call with Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson and Jay Feely.
It’s fair to say Nantz is fired up to call this one.
“The short of it is by the time we kick it on Sunday, for almost a month and a half I’ve been daydreaming about a divisional matchup between these two teams and hoping somehow it lands in our lap,” Nantz said on Glenn Clark Radio Jan. 15. “We got the game and I’m thrilled. You never know because the league parcels out these schedules and they try to make everybody happy, but it felt right that the primary AFC game, given that we’re the AFC network, should go to us. The league fulfilled that and here we go. We’re going to be last up of the four and it’s the one that everyone’s talking about.”
The top storylines heading into the game revolve around quarterbacks Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, both of whom are trying to break through in postseason play. Both had remarkable seasons that would make either the easy MVP front-runner in many other years, and now they’re trying to make it to the Super Bowl for the first time in their careers.
Allen threw for 3,731 yards, 28 touchdowns and a career-low six interceptions in 2024. The 6-foot-5, 237-pound sledgehammer of a quarterback also ran for 531 yards and 12 scores. He led the Bills to a 13-4 record, which included wins against No. 1 seeds Kansas City and Detroit.
Jackson already has two MVP awards but had his best year as a pro in 2024, reaching career highs in yards (4,172) and touchdowns (41) while throwing just four picks. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound lightning bolt of a quarterback also ran for 915 yards and four touchdowns. He led the Ravens to wins in their final four regular-season games en route to a second consecutive division title.
The Bills’ 31-7 wild-card victory against the Broncos got out of hand in the second half, giving Nantz and Romo room to talk about the MVP race. Voters have already cast their ballots since it’s a regular-season award, but Nantz wondered whether there was a better way to go about it this time around.
“I made an appeal, and I don’t even know how this works, that anybody that has a vote ought to have the right to wait to see this result before you cast a vote,” Nantz said. “I think that would be only fair. As we go into this game, I could give you a compelling argument on either side.”
Nantz would have no problem with voters deciding that Allen and Jackson both deserve recognition.
“Wouldn’t you be able to get 50 people in a room and say, ‘Do really any of you feel so strongly on one side of it,’ or can I bring everybody in and say, ‘They deserve to be co-MVPs,'” Nantz said. “Because that happened when Steve McNair was quarterbacking the [Titans]. He shared it with Peyton [Manning]. In the end, people don’t remember that it was a co-MVP. Peyton has five MVPs. No one ever talks about [how] there were four outright and one shared. He got five MVPs.”
This season marks the Ravens’ 16th trip to the playoffs and eighth division title since their inaugural season in 1996. They have a 172-104 regular-season mark under head coach John Harbaugh since his first season in 2008.
Now the Ravens are seeking their third Super Bowl championship. Nantz made sure to note that Ravens fans should consider themselves lucky given that many teams struggle to find the right mix at coach and quarterback.
“The success rate that’s gone on in your city, in Charm City, is off the charts,” Nantz said. “Do you know how many cities in this league would kill to have what you guys have had for the last 28 years? People would kill for this success.”
For more from Nantz, listen to the full interview here:
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