Drew Brees: The Real Challenge For Ravens and Bills Is Going To Be The Chiefs

"At the end of the day, both of those guys know that the real challenge is going to be Kansas City next week," Brees says in a one-on-one interview on behalf of his partnership with Dos Equis. "That's kind of been the big monkey on both their backs, especially when it comes to playoff time."

Both AFC powerhouses will obviously be concerned about winning this week in order to advance to the AFC Championship Game. But Brees' point holds true in that both teams have struggled to defeat the Chiefs in the playoffs during the Patrick Mahomes/Lamar Jackson/Josh Allen era. In fact, the Allen-led Bills have gone 0-3 against the Mahomes-led Chiefs and Jackson's Ravens lost a home AFC Championship Game against Kansas City last season.

Brees points towards the Ravens' stout running game with the added dimension of Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry as a major reason why they could win.

"You watch that Ravens run game – especially what they did to the Steelers last week – the Steelers have typically defended them really well, but they just said, 'We're going to run it down your throat,' and they did almost 300 yards rushing," says Brees.

While the Bills may not have the offensive star power that the Ravens possess, they still have Allen, the favorite to win the MVP award. Furthermore, despite the offseason departure of Stefon Diggs and the lack of a star wide receiver, the Bills still finished second in scoring with 30.9 points per game.

That's not even mentioning how Buffalo ranked 11th in scoring defense and third in turnovers forced. Brees mentions how the defensive unit has been inconsistent, but stresses Allen's ability to control and dominate games. He also points towards how the Bills' home crowd should play a major role in the game.

" The Bills have been an interesting team this year," says Brees. "I think at times defensively, they've given up a lot of points and yet you just watch Josh Allen and his maturation and his ability to keep them in games and extend plays and just to make plays. At first you're like, 'Oh no, what's he doing?' And then all of a sudden he throws a 40 yard touchdown."

"I think Bills mafia, I think Bills mafia ends up playing a big role in this game," Brees continues to say. "I don't know who's going to win, but I think it's going to be a heck of a game."

The MVP race is obviously a two-horse race between Allen and Jackson. While Jackson has won two MVP awards – including last season – Allen has never won a major award period. When one factors in that the 28-year-old quarterback has led the Bills to victories over the two best teams in the Chiefs and the Detroit Lions and that voters may be fatigued by voting for the same guy in Jackson, that could lead to an MVP win for the Bills QB.

"Just in watching the voters vote every year, it seems like it's usually a blend of statistics, accomplishments, but also the wins, – especially for the quarterback position," says Brees. "Where did your team finish? And that to me has typically been the determining factor."

Brees acknowledges that Allen's lack of MVP hardware may end up swaying voters to vote him rather than the two-time winner Jackson.

"Does Josh Allen have an edge because he's never won it? Lamar's won a couple of times," says Brees. "Do they lean towards the guy that hasn't won it? I don't know. I think it's definitely between those two guys. Lamar's certainly deserving of it as well."

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is also technically in the running for MVP after becoming just the ninth player in NFL history to run for 2,000 yards in a single season. He had an opportunity to break Eric Dickerson's 40-year rushing record of 2,105 yards – he was at 2,005 yards – but sat out the season finale in Week 18 due to the Eagles having nothing to play for.

"If Saquon would have broken the rushing record, you're sitting here going, 'Do you know how difficult that is for a running back to do that?' says Brees. "It's almost impossible for those guys to stay healthy through a whole season with the amount of abuse that their body takes and how physical this game is. It would have been remarkable – it would have been absolutely remarkable."

However, Brees also mentions how remarkable Jackson and Allen have been this season. He's hesitant to say that Barkley would have been the MVP had he broken the rushing record.

"But then you look at statistically and with what Josh Allen did and with what Lamar Jackson did and you say, 'Man, how can one of those guys not get it either? I could make arguments for all of them," says Brees.

The future Hall of Fame quarterback will be partnering with Dos Equis as part of their "Go for Dos" campaign leading into the College Football National Championship Game. The campaign is simple – if either the Ohio State Buckeyes or Notre Dame Fighting Irish go for a two-point conversion, fans will be offered 100K free beers.

If a two-point conversion is attempted, fans can then claim their beer by visiting Dos Equis' official website.

"If either team goes for two at any point in this game, they don't even have to complete it," says Brees. "They just go for two. It'll unlock 100,000 free beers for college football fans everywhere. So we're all rooting that somebody is going to go for two at some point in this game."

Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images, Scott Taetsch/Getty Images, Emilee Chinn/Getty Images