Fans and pundits online erupted into heated discourse when Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen earned Most Valuable Player for the 2024-25 season over Baltimore Ravens passer Lamar Jackson on Thursday.
Specifically, because some Associated Press voters seemingly split their ballots between the two QBs when it came to determining which was deserving of first-team All-Pro status and the MVP.
Those arguments are completely valid and deserve to be heard. However, Allen’s achievement wasn’t awarded out of pity or to please both fan bases.
Jackson’s stats for the year cleared Allen’s by a mile in all but a couple categories. It was undeniable he had the better season but one crucial fact makes it evident that Allen was the most valuable player of the year.
Allen became the first quarterback since Peyton Manning in 2008 to win the league MVP without any All-Pro teammates, per CBS Sports.
Jackson had five teammates voted first-team or second-team All-Pro this season, two of them on offense (FB Patrick Ricard and RB Derrick Henry).
While the Ravens passer was clearly better at his position and dominated the league (including a regular season win over Buffalo in Week 4), Allen’s ability to lead the Bills to the No. 2 seed with a less-than stellar supporting cast is all the more impressive.
The scenario to think about here would be: If the two swapped places, how much better would their respective teams do? It’s plausible to think that Allen would’ve potentially led Baltimore to a better fate this season than Jackson would’ve with Buffalo.
We’ll never truly know and it’s a slightly arbitrary method of differentiating their respective campaigns, but when determining which of the two was more valuable this year, Allen fits the bill better.
The debate over the MVP award’s definition will continue to rage on no matter what, but putting Allen in the same conversation as Peyton Manning should boost his credentials even more.
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