"If that was Mahomes, there would be 5 flags" - NFL fans call out refereeing double standards after Lamar Jackson gets no penalty on late hit

Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen dueled in what was considered the best game of the 2024 Divisional Round. The Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills met on the final game of the weekend, with the winner booking a ticket to Kansas City to play against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

In the other AFC Divisional Round game of the weekend, plenty of controversial calls went in favor of the Chiefs, leading many Houston Texans players to criticize the referees. But a similar call happened in Buffalo with no penalty assigned by the referees, and again, controversy sparked.

NFL fans complained about a no-call late hit from Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver (#91) over Lamar Jackson (#8). It appeared that Oliver continued to drag Lamar on the sidelines before taking the quarterback down. The argument from fans was that, if this hit happened to Mahomes, the penalty would've been assigned:

"Feelings more important than adherence to the rule," one fan said.

"If [it's] Mahomes, it's clearly a late hit and 15 yards, so sad how the league values certain players over others," another fan added.

"There would have been four flags if that was Mahomes," another fan pointed out.

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Lamar Jackson vs. Josh Allen: Battle of MVP candidates to close the Divisional Round

The NFL awards don't consider the playoffs. Whoever wins the game between the Ravens and the Bills will advance to the playoffs, but the race for the MVP award will be unchanged: the votes have already been cast, and the winner will be announced on February 6th.

The two quarterbacks have been considered the overwhelming favorites since the middle of the season. While the discourse has shifted between the two, other superstar quarterbacks, such as Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes, did not have the same level throughout the regular season.

Jackson has two MVP awards in his career, while Allen has never won any individual award. However, none of the quarterbacks will care for the MVP as much as they want to take down Mahomes to finally reach the first Super Bowl of their careers.