The Super Bowl agony goes on for Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens as they are forced to stomach another tale of heartbreak that sees them exit the NFL party early. Will their time ever come?

When Lamar Jackson is your quarterback and when Lamar Jackson is playing, Baltimore’s Super Bowl window shall never be deemed closed. He is, likely, about to clinch his third MVP award after another year of records, career highs and league-leading numbers, but once more his and the Ravens’ campaign culminates in playoff disappointment.

It was MVP vs MVP on Sunday (both deserve the award) as Jackson and Josh Allen faced off for the right to advance as the AFC’s champion knight tasked with slaying Patrick Mahomes and the threepeat-chasing Kansas City Chiefs dragon on behalf of the rest of the NFL.

Two of the greatest quarterbacks of their generation yet to taste triumph who could emphasise with one another’s painful shortcomings at the hands of the Chiefs. Two franchises in the Ravens and Buffalo Bills who have been banging on the Super Bowl door only to be drowned out by the red sea of Arrowhead. Both in need of a Super Bowl, both desperate for a Super Bowl.

It would be Allen to prevail as the Bills held on for a 27-25 victory at the death to reach the AFC Championship Game, teeing up the latest mouth-watering instalment of the modern era’s Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning. Allen seeking his first Lombardi lift, Mahomes pursuing his fourth and third in a row.

Jackson was guilty of costly turnovers on the night, but didn’t bow out minus a reminder of his greatness as he blocked out a raucous Highmark Stadium to orchestrate a masterful eight-play 88-yard drive in the final minutes, capped by a 24-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely to pull the Ravens within two.

Baltimore looked for all the world like they were about to draw level on the two-point attempt as Mark Andrews peeled free to the right of the end zone, only for the tight end to drop what, on any other day, looked a routine catch. Cue Bills ecstasy, cue Ravens regret.

“It’s a team effort,” Jackson said post-game. “He’s been busting his body. Making plays happen on that field for us, came up short. Like I’ve been saying all season every time we’ve been in a situation like this, turnovers play a factor. Penalties play a factor.

“Tonight, the turnovers, can’t have that s***. That’s why we lost the game. ‘Cause as you can see, we’re moving the ball wonderfully. Just hold on to the f****** ball. Sorry for my language, this s*** annoying. Tired of this.”

The Ravens let it slip through their fingers, quite literally. It became something of a nightmare night for Andrews, who had also lost a fumble when linebacker Terrel Bernard punched the ball loose before recovering it himself earlier in the fourth quarter. Baltimore had already fallen short earlier in the game, Andrews’ mishap the headline-writing full stop.

“I would say the same thing to all the guys, like Mark,” said Ravens head coach John Harbaugh. “There is nobody that has more heart or cares [and] fights more than Mark. We wouldn’t be here without Mark Andrews. That’s what you say to him.

“So, it’s like anything else, destiny is a decision that you make. It’s a decision on how you handle what comes in your life. Mark will handle it fantastic like he always does. He’s a high-character person, tough person and a good person. So, proud of him just like how I’m proud of all the guys.”

Jackson’s expletives he had been aimed at himself after being intercepted by Taylor Rapp on an overthrown pass intended for Rashod Bateman in the first quarter before also losing a fumble during a sack by Damar Hamlin, from which Von Miller’s 39-yard recovery return teed up Allen’s one-yard rushing touchdown for a 14-7 lead.

It was NFL playoff football of the highest stakes at its most ruthless and most brutal yet again.

“We’re a team,” Jackson said. “First half, I had two costly turnovers. Me not holding the safety, me just knowing the coverage, me knowing it was man. Threw an interception.

“The fumble. Just trying to make something happen. It was like a RPO play, so I couldn’t really throw the ball to [tight end Isaiah] Likely. I was trying to make something happen, tried to squeeze the ball. It slipped out of my hand. Von Miller picked it up, got some yards, I think that led to points for them.”

Jackson closed out the regular season with a career-high 4,172 passing yards for 41 touchdowns to just four interceptions with an NFL-best passer rating of 119.6, while also rushing for 915 yards after eclipsing Michael Vick for most rushing yards by a quarterback in NFL history. He was near-flawless statistically, weaving in the familiar episodes of mutant off-script genius and convention-shattering throws to torch best-laid defensive plans within one of the league’s most feared two-headed offensive tandems alongside Derrick Henry.

But whether rightly or wrongly, familiar questions will arrive. Jackson is now 3-5 in the playoffs and the only quarterback to have won multiple MVP awards while having a losing record in the postseason. He is also the only multiple MVP-winning quarterback to have not won a Super Bowl ring. He is, also, still just 28.

Sunday always ran the risk of provoking uneasy quarterback narratives surrounding the loser. In the end, it came down to which passer and which team surrendered fewer mistakes, the Bills emerging victorious having won the turnover battle in a clean performance while managing just 273 yards of offense in comparison to Baltimore’s 416.

Jackson responded admirably to his early turnovers when the Ravens offense might have capitulated entirely, what began as a game about the quarterbacks too running into defining variables elsewhere. Baltimore were set back by a foiled decision to go for a two-point conversion at the end of the third quarter – which may have eradicated the need to go for two in the final minute had they kicked the extra point – and so too an offensive game-plan that elected to hand the ball to Derrick Henry just 16 times.

But when a quarterback turns the ball over twice in the biggest game of the year having committed just nine turnovers all season, there will always be scrutiny in the NFL. Baltimore have now lost three times in the Divisional Round, twice in the Wild Card round and once in the AFC Championship Game (falling 17-10 to the Chiefs last season) with Jackson at the helm.

He embraced Allen with a smile at the close on Sunday night, masking his own gut-wrenching pain to applaud the worthiest of foes. He remains in the thick of a generation-defining quarterback joust for supremacy alongside Mahomes and Allen, and has continued to respond emphatically to playoff adversity. He is so close, and he knows it.

The story of this season ends here for the Ravens. But Jackson will be back. He is too talented, too driven, too good not to.

What’s next?

It’s the NFL Conference Championships on Sunday January 26 – live on Sky Sports NFL – with the Philadelphia Eagles first hosting the Washington Commanders in the NFC title game from 8pm, and then the Chiefs taking on the Bills from 11.30pm.

Super Bowl LIX takes place on Sunday, February 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, live on Sky Sports NFL.