JUST IN: Why Bills quarterback player was voted NFL MVP but later…
In the NFL MVP competition, quarterback Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens received 49 of 50 first-place votes. However, a more thorough examination of the data supports Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills, who received the lone other first-place vote.
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson won 49 of 50 first-place votes in the NFL MVP competition. A closer look at the data, however, lends credence to Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills, who was the only other team to garner a first-place vote.
With more points than any other player in the league, the fifth-place finisher also happened to be the driving force behind the Buffalo Bills’ winning streak of five games, which resulted in the team’s fourth consecutive AFC East championship. Josh Allen, the quarterback for the Bills, completed 11 touchdown passes and three game-winning drives in the fourth quarter over those five wins.
For even casual observers, it was clear that Allen carried the Bills through the successful stretch run. Doing so with a first-time offensive coordinator who was installed mid-season, he took his team from 6-6 and 13th place in the conference to 11-6 and the No. 2 seed in the AFC Playoffs.
With the dual-threat field general doing his best Superman impersonation, Buffalo posted late-season road wins over the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and the division rival Miami Dolphins. In between, there was a home thrashing of the NFC East winner Dallas Cowboys.
If those credentials aren’t enough to overtake Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson in the MVP voting, then they should be, at least, good enough to make Allen a close second. Instead, Jackson received 49 of 50 first-place votes while Allen received the only other vote but finished fifth.
In 2023, Allen (4,306) had 628 more passing yards than Jackson (3,678), and the quarterback for the Bills had the same number of passing touchdowns (29) as Jackson did overall touchdowns. Jackson’s sack percentage of 7.5 percent was significantly higher than Allen’s 4.0 percent.
Allen completed 57 out of 111 rush attempts with a first down when it came to running the football. In 148 carries, Jackson earned first-down yards 48 times.
