- Josh Allen vs. Lamar Jackson highlights Week 8: The top two preseason MVP favorites will face off at New Highmark Stadium during an afternoon slot, with Allen holding a 4-2 career head-to-head record against the Ravens.
- Aggressive NFC stars clash at Lambeau Field: Week 6 features a primetime duel between Jordan Love and Dak Prescott, two tier-one efficiency passers who finished the previous season ranked third and fourth, respectively, in PFF passing grade.
- Drake Maye faces a daunting road test in Kansas City: A Week 15 Monday Night Football matchup puts the Patriots’ sophomore quarterback up against Patrick Mahomes and a revamped Chiefs defense, testing Maye’s historically lower road-split PFF grades.
The release of the 2026 NFL schedule offers the first real glimpse at the quarterback matchups that could define the upcoming season. And while not every highly anticipated showdown ultimately lives up to expectations, elite quarterback play still continues to drive the league’s biggest moments and most memorable games.
Of course, plenty can change between now and January. Injuries, unexpected breakouts and midseason regression will inevitably reshape the quarterback landscape. Patrick Mahomes’ recovery timeline also remains uncertain entering the season.
Last year provided a reminder of how quickly narratives can shift. Few would have identified Sam Darnold versus Matthew Stafford as must-see television entering the season, yet by January, it had become one of the league’s defining storylines.
Scheduling also plays a major role. Several marquee quarterback battles are set for primetime windows, where crowd noise, atmosphere and environment can dramatically alter the complexion of a game.
Josh Allen vs. Lamar Jackson: Week 8
The two preseason favorites for the MVP award will square off in New Highmark Stadium, somewhat surprisingly scheduled for a 1 p.m. local kickoff alongside seven other games.
The Bills already have six prime-time games this season, including all five of their NFC opponents. Perhaps fans are growing fatigued by the overload of Bills-Chiefs-Ravens battles atop the AFC in recent seasons and would prefer fresher matchups in prime time.
This remains the very best quarterback battle on the entire 2026 regular season slate. Allen’s Bills are 4-2 vs. Jackson’s Ravens when the two have started, including two playoff wins in Buffalo.
Allen’s best career game against the Ravens was his most recent — he posted an 87.0 PFF grade and 112.0 passer rating versus Baltimore in last season’s opener.
Meanwhile, Lamar Jackson’s sample size of play in these games is surprisingly small. Despite trailing the Bills on several occasions, Lamar has only ever completed 20 passes once in his six career starts against Buffalo. He averages 178 passing yards per game against the Bills compared to 222 versus all other defenses.
While the noise inside this new stadium remains a total unknown, the early start time could ease the atmosphere for the Ravens offense. However, the Bills will be entering this one coming off a bye week.
Josh Allen vs. Matthew Stafford: Week 5
One of the Bills’ aforementioned prime-time NFC matchups brings about a fascinating battle between the past two MVPs. Conditions won’t be a factor here in SoFi Stadium.
The Bills will play the eighth-hardest schedule in the league this season, and Josh Allen could find himself in his fair share of shootouts. These stars have crossed paths three times in their careers, with Allen’s Bills currently 2-1 in those matchups.
While Allen would be considered more dangerous when extending plays than Stafford, he also takes more negative plays. Stafford was sacked 29 times on 240 pressured dropbacks last season. Meanwhile, Allen was sacked 44 times on 237 dropbacks under pressure.
But it’s also fair to wonder if luck will swing further in Allen’s favor this season. Stafford threw only interceptions on 26 turnover-worthy plays last year, while Allen threw 12 interceptions on 16 turnover-worthy plays.
Drake Maye vs. Patrick Mahomes: Week 15
While no formal announcement has been made regarding Patrick Mahomes’ return timetable, the Chiefs’ early Week 5 bye week suggests the league is optimistic that one of its biggest stars will be back on the field by mid-October at the latest.
Of course, Mahomes could be back in action as early as their prime-time Week 1 game against the Broncos at Arrowhead, but it would appear the marquee quarterback matchups on Kansas City’s schedule have been purposely backloaded.
It remains unclear whether Mahomes will be fully back to his best for the latest edition in the Chiefs-Bills catalog on Thanksgiving night. But he should be back to 100% in every capacity one month later at home to Drake Maye’s Patriots on Monday night football.
The Patriots were scrutinized for their lackluster strength of schedule last regular season. Maye faced just one playoff team on the road last regular season — a solid if unspectacular showing against the Bills with a 79.7 PFF grade, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions.
In the playoffs, Maye struggled greatly on the road in Denver and then in the Super Bowl. They were his two lowest PFF passing grades of the year, 32.0 and 30.8, albeit against two of the league’s best defenses. He’ll be up against a revamped Chiefs defense featuring rookies Mansoor Delane, Peter Woods and R Mason Thomas.
Lamar Jackson vs. Joe Burrow: Weeks 7 & 17
This is probably the best intra-divisional quarterback matchup in the sport right now. Jackson is 7-2 versus Burrow’s Bengals, with 18 touchdowns and just four interceptions against the Cincinnati defense, which has graded in the top half of the league only twice in Jackson’s seven seasons as the full-time starter.
This pair met twice late last year in Weeks 13 and 15, exchanging three-score blowouts. In these games, Joe Burrow posted his two lowest passer ratings of his eight-game season. However, his overall PFF grades of 78.9 and 79.6, boosted by just one turnover-worthy play on 94 dropbacks, paint slightly different pictures.
Lamar Jackson looked like two entirely different players in the two meetings just 17 days apart. His 42.2 overall PFF grade in Week 13 was Jackson’s lowest of any game in five years.
He bounced back in the repeat fixture with an 81.5 PFF grade and almost five additional yards per attempt en route to a 24-0 dismantling to keep Baltimore’s playoff hopes alive, ultimately in vain.
Their 2026 matchups are split more evenly. Big money free agent Trey Hendrickson is now in pursuit of the opposite quarterback, and both teams are in search of a return to playoff football. It wouldn’t be any surprise if their New Year’s Eve primetime clash involves the division crown on the line.
Jordan Love vs. Dak Prescott: Week 6
There are plenty of quarterback matchups on the 2026 schedule that carry bigger headlines. Several marquee AFC showdowns featuring Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson will understandably dominate national attention.
This matchup, however, shines a spotlight on two of the NFC’s premier quarterbacks. Jordan Love and Dak Prescott finished 2025 ranked third and fourth, respectively, in PFF passing grade.
The similarities between the two are striking. Both play with aggressive, downfield tendencies while maintaining strong efficiency. Each ranked inside the top 10 in average depth of target, adjusted completion percentage and sack avoidance last season. Love’s average time to throw was only 0.04 seconds slower than Prescott’s.
Despite their production, both quarterbacks still feel slightly outside the league’s inner MVP circle. That perception is reflected in the betting markets, where they currently sit eighth and ninth in MVP odds despite elite 2025 campaigns.
Their Week 6 prime-time meeting at Lambeau Field presents a major opportunity for both teams to establish themselves as legitimate NFC contenders. The matchup could also coincide with Micah Parsons’ full return to action, adding another layer of intrigue to one of the season’s more compelling quarterback duels.