After Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen won the 2024 NFL MVP award, many fans claimed Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson deserved to win more. Although the commotion didn’t result in the NFL reversing their decision, there appears to be a bit of an asterisk on Allen’s MVP.
Was it winner fatigue since Jackson won in 2019 and 2023?
The 2024 season could’ve been an even greater year for Jackson, being named a three-time MVP. However, Allen won the award, putting Jackson’s third MVP on hold for now.
Whether people love or hate the decision, that won’t change a thing.
Josh Allen, Bills had easier regular-season schedule than Lamar Jackson, Ravens
Now, Allen had an incredible season, and he was arguably the most valuable to his team. Had the Bills been playing without Allen, they likely wouldn’t be in the position they were.
However, the Bills played in five games against teams that would go on to make the playoffs. Of their 17 regular-season games, six of them were against teams picking within the top 10 picks of the 2025 NFL Draft.
On the other hand, the Ravens played 10 games against playoff teams in the 2024 regular season. Along with that, three of their 2024 opponents have a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
So, while Allen might’ve been surrounded by less talent on the roster, the Ravens had a much tougher schedule, requiring better play throughout the regular season.
If the schedule difference isn’t enough to sway the opinion of the masses, there’s more.
Lamar Jackson responsible for higher percentage of team’s offensive yards than Josh Allen
Yes, Derrick Henry — one of the best running backs in the NFL — accompanied Jackson in the Ravens’ offense. However — even with Henry — Jackson accounted for 5,087 of their 7,224 total yardage — or 70.4% of their offense.
So, for those claiming the Ravens only performed better because Jackson had Henry in the backfield with him, that’s far from the truth.
Did Henry help the Ravens’ offense? Of course, he did.
But, looking at how much of the offense went through Jackson, the Ravens’ quarterback deserves his flowers, too.
Now, Allen — who had a less desirable offense to work in — accounted for 4,262 of their 6,105 total yards — or 69.8% of their offense.
So, although he had fewer weapons surrounding him, he was actually responsible for a lower percentage of yardage than Jackson was.
Even with a better offense around him, Jackson was personally accountable for more yards. So, while Henry certainly helped Baltimore’s offense, Jackson was pulling more of the Ravens’ weight than Allen was for the Bills.
Each person might have their own definition of “valuable,” but it’s hard to say Jackson wasn’t more valuable to his team than Allen after seeing which quarterback was more responsible for offensive yardage.
If that isn’t enough to prove that Jackson deserved the award, there’s another argument.
Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson both joined NFL history following 2024 MVP results
With Allen winning, he joined an exclusive list of MVP winners. For the third time in NFL history since John Elway (1987) and Steve McNair (2003), the league MVP wasn’t a first-team All-Pro.
Who was named first-team All-Pro?
Ah, Jackson. Interesting.
And when looking at the stats, it’s understandable why Jackson was named a first-team All-Pro, while Allen was second-team.
With this debate reaching Robert Griffin III, he took to X to speak his truth, giving a former player’s perspective.
“There is no reason for a MVP Voter and All-Pro Voter to split their votes on Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen,” Griffin wrote. “If you voted Josh Allen as the MVP, he should have gotten the 1st team All-Pro vote. If you voted Lamar Jackson 1st team All-Pro, he should have gotten the MVP vote too.”
Now, although Griffin thinks this, it doesn’t make it a true fact. However, given his involvement in the game — having played and now being on the media side — it’s interesting to see his perspective.
In fact, only one other time in NFL history has a quarterback posted a passer rating of 115 or higher and not win MVP that season. The only other quarterback to do that besides Jackson: Drew Brees according to The 33rd Team on X.
While it might seem over-the-top to have so many people up in arms about Jackson being snubbed, it’s understandable.
When a player performs as well as Jackson, it’s perplexing to see him walk away from the 2025 NFL Honors without the MVP award in his hands.
Now, although there were reasons why Jackson deserved the MVP award over Allen, that doesn’t change the result.
A computer doesn’t choose the winner of these awards; people vote on each one.
So, even though Jackson’s season looked better on paper and he had better stats than Allen, enough voters thought otherwise to award the MVP to Buffalo’s quarterback.
It might bother some fans — in fact, it clearly did — but just because the voters might’ve screwed up the 2024 NFL MVP, that shouldn’t take away from Allen having an incredible season.
Some might hold this over him for years to come, but at the end of the day, he was who the voters believed was the Most Valuable Player in the NFL.
