Bills quarterback Josh Allen and his Jets counterpart, Sam Darnold, could face off for years in the AFC East if things go according to plan.

The two second-year quarterbacks are used to competing with each other when no one is watching. Allen and Darnold trained together in California this offseason, the second straight year they did so. In 2018, it was preparing for the draft. This year, it was about preparing for their second seasons.

“When we’re on the field, we want to be better than the other guy, but we want to push each other at the same time,” Allen said Wednesday as the teams prepared to kick off the NFL season Sunday at MetLife Stadium. “It’s not a hugely competitive environment, but it’s more of a friendly environment to push each other. He’s a great dude, and to be able to know him and his family and develop that relationship, it’s been super awesome.”

Allen said they developed a strong bond before the draft last year, and that has continued despite being on AFC East rivals.

“We got put in the same division after we became pretty good friends,” Allen said. “To find somebody who has a similar situation as you in life when not many people do, we’ve leaned on each other in that aspect. We’ve been really good to each other. I really cherish the friendship that me and Sam have. It continues to grow over the years.”

The Bills and Jets are in a similar position, as they both hope their young quarterbacks take a leap this year and lead them back to the playoffs. Unlike Darnold, Allen did not start in Week 1 last year after the team decided to go with Nathan Peterman. Allen ended up starting 11 games, throwing 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions and running for another eight touchdowns.

This year, the team is all his.

“It feels a lot better [this year],” Allen said. “I’ve been in the same system for a year now. Having that relationship with our offensive coordinator [Brian Daboll] and our head coach [Sean McDermott], getting the No. 1 reps in OTAs and training camp and being able to develop that camaraderie with the guys, it’s been fantastic. Understanding that a lot of resources have been put into this team in hopes that we win some football games. That’s my job to go out there and protect the football and get the ball to our playmakers and let them make some plays and put up some points hopefully and win some football games.”