Lamar Jackson Baltimore Ravens
Quarterback Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens is tackled as he carries the ball by cornerback Mike Hilton #28 of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on November 4, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

With the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills separated by just a game at the top of the AFC standings, Sunday’s matchup between the two teams has major playoff implications. Baltimore can take one step closer toward earning the conference’s No.1 seed, but pulling off the upset would give Buffalo a real chance to earn a first-round postseason bye.

Despite their record, the Bills are significant home underdogs against the Ravens. According to OddsShark, Baltimore is favored by six points in Buffalo. The total is 43.5.

The Bills proved to be more than just an average team when they had their way with the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving. Buffalo is headed to the postseason and could be a tough out on Wild-Card Weekend.

But the Ravens are at least one level ahead of the Bills, and it’ll show in the Week 14 matchup.

It’d be hard to put together a more impressive eight-game winning streak than the one Baltimore is currently riding. The Ravens have beaten five teams that are above .500, including all three of the other NFL teams that have a 10-2 record. Before handing the San Francisco 49ers their second loss of the season in Week 13, Baltimore blew out the first-place Houston Texans 41-7.

The Tennessee Titans are the only winning team that Buffalo has defeated. The Bills did so when Marcus Mariota was still starting at quarterback.

Holding the Cowboys and their overrated offense to 15 points is one thing. The Ravens are the real deal with an NFL-best 33.8 points per game and MVP frontrunner Lamar Jackson leading the way.

It’s a given that Jackson will put up big numbers, even against a very good Bills’ defense. Jackson just ran for 101 yards on 16 attempts against the 49ers’ No.1 ranked defense. The quarterback has had a perfect passer rating, totaled three touchdowns or ran for over 100 yards in 10 of the Ravens’ 12 games.

Buffalo has been susceptible to the run at times. The Bills rank 21st in the NFL, allowing 4.5 yards per rushing attempt.

The Bills have only faced four teams that even have a top-23 offense. They beat the Cowboys and New England Patriots. Dallas has been awful against good teams and New England’s playmakers have been alarmingly bad.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ No.20 ranked offense routed Buffalo 31-13 with 218 rushing yards. The Cleveland Browns and their No.18 offense beat the Bills when Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt had 146 rushing yards on over 6.0 yards per attempt

Josh Allen has exceeded expectations with Buffalo. The second-year quarterback has totaled 18 touchdowns and two interceptions over the last eight games. He’s been the second-best quarterback of the 2018 draft class.

Jackson has been the best quarterback in that class, by a mile. He’ll be the biggest difference Sunday in Buffalo.

Prediction: Baltimore over Buffalo, 27-19