3 reasons why Josh Allen won MVP award over Lamar Jackson
Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen edged out Lamar Jackson to win the 2024-25 AP NFL MVP award.
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Josh Allen is named the AP NFL MVP for the 2024 season (Image via NFL/X)
Josh Allen has finally done it. He was declared as the Associated Press’ NFL MVP for the 2024-25 season on Thursday. He beat out the likes of Lamar Jackson and Jared Goff as he etched his name in the league’s history books.
This season was supposed to be a rebuild for the Buffalo Bills. When they started their season with three straight victories, not many were surprised considering they were playing against not-so-great opponents.
Then came two losses against Super Bowl hopefuls, which again did not have many batting their eyelids. After those two games, the Bills regrouped and won five straight. Even then, many thought they were just benefitting from their opponents’ struggles.
Then came the famous win against Patrick Mahomes‘ Kansas City Chiefs and suddenly the league sat up to take notice. Allen’s bulldozing runs along with his pinpoint precision in the passing game handed the Chiefs their first loss of the season.
He continued to show his elite skills against the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams and the Detroit Lions. All that effort helped his Bills to finish the season with a 13-4 record and second in the AFC. No one saw this team doing that.
Despite that, many felt Lamar Jackson was the clear favorite in the MVP race. Being named the 1st team All-Pro QB seemingly ensured the Ravens QB was going to win. But then, Allen became the first non 1st team All-Pro player to win the NFL MVP award in 21 seasons. Let us examine what led to him hold that trophy.
Lamar Jackson had weapons, Josh Allen did not
Lamar Jackson no doubt had an MVP caliber season. Statistics wise, he was well ahead of the Buffalo Bills quarterback and, along with his clutch plays, suggested he was the favorite to win it. A logic was thrown around that he managed to do all that despite having elite weapons at his disposal.
However, it seems those weapons ended up undoing his efforts. Derrick Henry was the second-best running back in the league. Mark Andrews was as consistently great as he has always been. The offensive line was at their best, and the receivers held up their end of the bargain.
On the other hand, Josh Allen had to rely on the new faces in front of him to protect him. His receiving core was essentially rookie Keon Coleman and no one else. Only later in the season did he have Amari Cooper, but the wideouts injuries did not help them take off.
The only benefit he had was running back James Cook. But other than that, Allen was basically playing with an empty closet. It is possible that the Associated Press saw what he worked with and then awarded him the NFL MVP trophy.
Ravens vs. Bills strength of schedule
That lack of elite teammates also comes into focus when comparing the Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills. According to strength of schedule calculations, the former had the second toughest schedule in the league.
But the Bills weren’t far back as they had tied for the sixth toughest schedule when calculating performances of their opponents in the 2023 season. When looking at their wins and losses, the Ravens lost to the Chiefs, Raiders, Browns, Steelers and Eagles.
The Bills lost to the Ravens, Texans, Rams and Patriots. When one analyzes the opponents, it is clear that the Baltimore Ravens had some embarrassing losses to two of the worst teams in the league. At the same time, they also lost to playoff contenders.
The Bills have the same number of losses to playoff teams, but won crucially did not lose to bad teams. The lone loss to the Patriots was in Week 18 when Allen and the starters rested. This goes to add to the logic that Josh Allen did more than Lamar Jackson with less.
Voter fatigue
Even if one had to disregard those logics, one cannot argue enough that the league and its fans seemingly wanted a new face as their MVP. Jackson won it last season, therefore, had AP handed him the award again, it would have made him a back-to-back winner.
Already there are enough rumors of the NFL and it’s officiating aiding the Kansas City Chiefs to back-to-back-to-back Super Bowls. The league is already facing the heat from fans and is trying hard to dispel those allegations.
Therefore, it is possible that it all played into the Associated Press to crown a new league MVP. Football fans want excitement and something new every season. The same logic could have run across the minds of the voters.
Related: Some Chiefs players would choose Bo Nix over Patrick Mahomes purely based on stats
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Joseph Varghese
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