Josh Allen Gets Great MVP News Despite All-Pro Setback

Right now, the majority of focus in the NFL heading into mid-January circulates around one thing – the playoffs.

On the periphery, however, we have other bits and pieces that grab fans’ attention – coaching hirings and firings, potential offseason moves and various documented post-mortems.

In addition to, of course, the small matter of the off-season awards.

The Pro Bowl was announced on January 2nd, prior to the final week’s slate of games, and on Friday 10th, the All-Pro team has been revealed, with a very interesting decision.

Lamar Jackson received 30 first place All-Pro votes to Josh Allen’s 18, per the AP, meaning Jackson is now the clear frontrunner for his third NFL MVP. https://t.co/52DUddtIp6

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 10, 2025

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Lamar Jackson received the 1st team All-Pro nod ahead of the Buffalo Bills‘ Josh Allen by 30 votes to 18, as reported by Tom Pelissero. And, as he notes, this could well be a sign for things to come in the closer-than-usual MVP discussion between the pair.

Although we won’t officially find out the winner until next month at the annual NFL Awards dinner, the 1st team All Pro quarterback has tended to take home the MVP award in years past.

Lamar Jackson Beats Out Josh Allen To Make 3rd 1st Team All Pro Appearance

In fact, in recent years, this “correlation” has bordered on a certainty: The last 1st team All Pro QB to not be the MVP was back in 2012, when Adrian Peterson beat out Peyton Manning for the honor.

And the last time a quarterback won the MVP by himself (there has been 1 QB-QB tie – Manning and Steve McNair in 2003), who did not also make the 1st team All Pro was way back in 1987, when John Elway won the MVP, but Joe Montana was honored as the 1st team All Pro quarterback.

So, for Bills fans hoping to see their beloved franchise quarterback finally win the Most Valuable Player award, this could be quite the disappointment. Particularly considering this development has led to a massive shift in projection markets, where betting exchange “Polymarket” saw Allen’s MVP odds go from around 80% earlier this month, to just 32% now.

Odds just took a massive flip https://t.co/9MU1rWArpC pic.twitter.com/v3wifC6iWU

— Q (@JusCallMeQ81) January 10, 2025

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Despite this unfortunate news for Bills Mafia, it seems that the All-Pro decision might not carry the distinct correlative weight that it has in the past.

2025 Could Be Set To Buck A Decade’s Long Trend

Steve Palazzolo, formerly of PFF, notes that there is still a path to the award for Allen given the difference in the spirit of both prizes.

“This CAN be a direct proxy for MVP, but not necessarily. I’m sure there are some voters who looked at Lamar Jackson’s stats and voted for him as All-Pro, but they still believe Allen was more valuable and will vote him for MVP.”

Palazzolo may well be right: for those who stat watch, it is undeniable that Lamar had a better statistical season, but those who watched the games – which hopefully the AP voting committee did – Allen’s impact transcended the simple statistics that put up this year.

Moreover, with such a clear connection between the 1st team All Pro and MVP, especially now in the quarterback era, the fact that Polymarket still prices Allen with nearly a 1/3 chance to win the trophy implies that this year may not have quite as straightforward a path as previous ones for the former two-time winner to claim his third award.