Josh Allen’s Robust 2024 MVP Case

In Week 15 of the 2025 NFL season, Josh Allen had seemingly solidified himself as the MVP.

The Bills had just defeated the Detroit Lions 48-42, with Allen throwing for 362 yards and two touchdowns. In addition, he had 68 rushing yards and two more rushing touchdowns. The near-perfect game for the seventh-year quarterback had catapulted him ahead of the MVP rankings.

Today, MVP voters are tasked with one of the most difficult decisions in the last decade.

Names such as Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Jared Goff, Saquon Barkley, and Sam Darnold should also be mentioned among the leaders. However, this has really come down to a two-man race.

Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens.

Both quarterbacks are known for their incredible duality. They possess the ability to throw and run at the highest level.

However, only one man can win the award. The other will go home empty-handed.

Preface

It is important to start by addressing just how close this race is.

As a Buffalo Bills fan, I cannot discredit Lamar Jackson’s incredible season. There is no doubt that he has a strong case for the MVP.

But Josh Allen has been in a league of his own.

Defining the MVP

Amongst all the uproar over this year’s MVP debate, a simple question must be answered before any other arguing should be done.

What is the MVP?

Well, the Most Valuable Player Award should be given to the player who provides the most value to their team. But, value is thought of in different ways.

I think of the stat VORP (Value Over Replacement Player). This stat is meant to compare how a specific player adds value to their team about how an average player would.

People may view value in other ways, which is why this debate can sometimes be difficult. This idea of value on a team brings me to my next point.

Team differential

While Pro Bowl voting is done by the fans, it feels necessary to point out the difference in Pro Bowlers on both the Ravens and the Bills.

Outside of Lamar Jackson, the Ravens had eight players voted into the Pro Bowl.

Other than Josh Allen, the Bills had one.

Here are the 2025 Pro Bowl Games rosters, led by nine #Ravens, seven #Lions and six #Eagles. pic.twitter.com/4tAzTfZTEM

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 2, 2025

One of Jackson’s Pro Bowl teammates happens to be Derrick Henry. You know, first-ballot Hall-of-Famer Derrick Henry. Arguably the most dominant running back of the decade… Derrick Henry.

Jackson’s throwing progression has been incredible, and I don’t mean to discredit his improvement in this category. But having defenses constantly fear a 6-foot-2, 250-pound monster breaking away for an 80-yard rush will affect how teams play Jackson in coverage.

DERRICK HENRY TO THE HOUSE ON THE 1ST PLAY 🤯

87 YARDS TD.

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/PG2LE1xyQs

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 30, 2024

The common clap-back to the running back debate is to point out that Bills running back James Cook led the NFL in rushing touchdowns (tied with the aforementioned Henry and Jahmyr Gibbs). Additionally, in the season’s final game, Cook surpassed 1,000 yards rushing this year.

However, Cook still trails Henry by over 900 rushing yards on the season.

When I think of the 2024-25 Baltimore Ravens, I think:

Lamar Jackson 1A and Derrick Henry 1B.

When I think of the 2024-25 Buffalo Bills, I think of one man.

Josh. Freaking. Allen.

Finally, to close out this topic, let’s listen to what NFL on CBS says about the playoff rankings. Pay close attention to the names he says when mentioning the Ravens and the Bills.

https://www.tiktok.com/@nfloncbs/video/7457705140494109998?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7438650404000417326

I end this section with a simple question.

If the Ravens had Tyler Huntley play all season, how good would the Baltimore Ravens be? In a very difficult division, I’d say quite a bit worse. But not awful.

If the Bills had Mitch Trubisky play all season (no disrespect to the NVP), how good would they be?

I’ll answer that question for you. Absolutely terrible.

The Stats Debate

One of the top arguments for any quarterback to win MVP is your team record. The win differential between the Ravens and Bills is only a single game for the second straight year.  *If you don’t count the Bills tanking the last game so New England doesn’t get the first pick while also resting for the playoffs.*

Because of this, the leading debate topic between these two players has changed to individual stats.

This topic angers me for various reasons:

1. If the MVP solely relied on stats, then the award should be given to Joe Burrow. He has had a statistically more impressive season than Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. But Burrow won’t win the MVP because his team went 9-8 and missed the playoffs.
2. In last year’s MVP debate, Allen had better stats than Jackson, yet didn’t win the MVP.

• Allen’s Stats
• Jackson’s Stats

Finally, one of the biggest knocks on Allen’s career has been his turnover problem. Allen went from throwing 18 interceptions last year to only six this year and went from being sacked 24 times to only 14. Allen fumbled five times last year and lost three. This year, he fumbled only once for no loss. Jackson did only throw four interceptions on the season but got sacked 23 times as well as fumbling eight times and losing four of them.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DEWHkRcMKxv/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Team Expectations

Let’s take a trip back to last spring.

When Derrick Henry first signed with the Baltimore Ravens, what was the dialogue surrounding the team’s expectations?

Here is a clip from Pat McAfee‘s show live reacting to the signing:

BREAKING NEWS: Derrick Henry has signed with the Baltimore Ravens #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/1jBSydkRoH

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 12, 2024

Now jump a few weeks later to when the Bills traded away All-Pro receiver Stefon Diggs.

What was the dialogue surrounding the Bills after that? I’ll tell you.

The only reason people think Josh Allen will be successful without Diggs is because he’s fast and has a big arm. There isn’t a shred of actual evidence that would suggest he’d be elite without a top WR. All of his success directly correlates with when Diggs came to Buffalo.

— VBS (@VBSofficial_) April 3, 2024

Constant questions about Josh Allen’s ability to play without a star receiver were hushed and 100% destroyed this season.

Josh Allen led one of the most efficient and dominant offenses in NFL history without a 1,000-yard receiver.

Before the season, the Bills also were consistently disrespected in the preseason NFL rankings.

• Bleacher Report had the Bills finishing 9-8 and 3rd in the AFC East
• Fox Sports had the Bills finishing 10-7 and 2nd in the AFC East

I’ll admit, even I had low expectations for this season.

There was a consensus around the NFL that the Bills were in for their worst season in half a decade.

In reality, Buffalo solidified their 5th straight divisional title.

In the 13th week of the season

The Bills not only finished 5-1 in their division (once again, they lost to the Patriots in the last game of the season, pretty much on purpose) but also had one of the best seasons in NFL History.

Thanks to Josh Allen.

The #Bills set several new franchise records this season.

(via Amazon Prime Sports) pic.twitter.com/EpW1cOlcZM

— Built in Buffalo (@BuiltInBuffalo_) January 9, 2025

“Voting Fatigue”

I don’t like the idea of not giving a player an award for being “too good.” This is a strong reason why Giannis Antetokounmpo has fallen out of top MVP standing after winning in back-to-back seasons— voters have clearly been tired of him winning.

This same problem seems to be happening this year with Lamar Jackson. Lamar first won the NFL MVP in 2019 and again last year in the 2023-24 season.

Some people argue that Jackson should win the MVP for a particular reason:

• Since Jackson won the MVP last season, AND he is having a statistically better season this year, then he should win it again.

This argument stinks on so many levels that I don’t even feel the need to recognize it.

I don’t want Allen to win this year’s MVP in retribution for being snubbed from winning last year’s award.

The Eye Test

As someone who has watched every single snap of the 2024-25 regular season for the Bills, one thing is certain.

There has never been a quarterback better at making something out of nothing than Josh Allen.

Allen rarely makes a negative play and has seemingly ascended to a different plane of existence as a player.

This Bills got whooped by Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, but we don’t talk enough about this play Josh Allen made in the game.

Maybe his best play all year https://t.co/1WDP6Ymjxu pic.twitter.com/fGS7XVth4d

— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) January 4, 2025

This play by Allen against the Ravens is not uncommon. Allen does this every week. No other quarterback is making this play— end of story.

A different breed.@JoshAllenQB is having a MVP season: https://t.co/PTLExWB4jo pic.twitter.com/szLToTVieA

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 7, 2025

Allen is the greatest quarterback ever at escaping the pocket, running to the sideline, and rocketing a 50-yard pass to perfection.

To Sum It All Up

Am I biased? 100%.

Am I wrong? Maybe.

Am I willing to listen to an argument on why Lamar Jackson should win the MVP? Absolutely.

Will I change my mind?

Never.