Josh Allen has won the first MVP award of his career. To many people’s surprise, the Buffalo Bills quarterback won the accolade over Lamar Jackson, who undoubtedly had a better statistical season.
Jackson was expected to win back-to-back MVP awards and the third of his career, but the voters crowned Allen, whose team had a better record.
Fans Are Surprised by Josh Allen Winning the 2024 NFL MVP Award
NFL fans on social media were stunned after seeing the Bills star win the award. Some of them referred to it as a sympathy award and related it to how Joel Embiid won the NBA MVP over Nikola Jokić at the end of the 2023-24 NBA season.
Here are some of the reactions:
Sympathy Award https://t.co/Mz42b60y6g
— 🦅 (@4evachosen1) February 7, 2025
“Lamar Jackson = Robbed,” wrote one fan.
“Worst MVP ever,” said another fan.
LAMAR ROBBED pic.twitter.com/80mWA6DcVq
— zinzy°🧊 (@itz_zinzy) February 7, 2025
“We’re seriously giving out pity MVPs now?” questioned a Baltimore Ravens fan.
Another fan added, “Top 10 QB season ever loses MVP to a rush push merchant.”
corporate wants you to spot the difference between these 2 pictures https://t.co/u33pQPnpmr pic.twitter.com/69Vx5X2c2y
— aidan ⚜️ (Bub Means FC Leader) (@aidangmurray) February 7, 2025
Allen and the Bills finished the season with a record of 13-4, while Jackson and the Ravens had a record of 12-5. The Bills defeated the Ravens in the Divisional Round, but fans were surprised with the result because the award is based on the regular season.
Jackson was named the first-team quarterback of the All-Pro, and usually, the quarterback who earns that accolade wins the MVP award the same season, when won by a QB. The situation didn’t play out that way this time around, though, as the voters might have given the edge to Allen, whose supporting cast wasn’t as good as Jackson’s.
Derrick Henry had a huge impact on the Ravens’ success this past season, but unfortunately, his presence might have cost Jackson the third MVP award of his career.
You can check out the comparison of the two quarterback’s stats in the image below:
Jackson led in every category apart from the team’s record and rushing touchdowns, so people being shocked by Allen winning the award is reasonable. However, the same thing worked in the Ravens quarterback’s favor last season when he won the award over Dak Prescott, who had better stats than him.
Allen Won a Close Race Over Lamar Jackson
A player of Allen’s caliber not winning any major accolade in his first seven seasons in the league wouldn’t have been fair, but the league doesn’t hand awards out based on fairness. The Bills star had the best season of his career, not based on the stats but rather based on impact.
He nearly led his team to a Super Bowl appearance in a season where the expectations were quite low for the Bills as the team lost Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, and several other key players, especially on the defensive side, in the offseason.
Allen had 27 first-place votes compared to Jackson’s 22 and won the MVP race by just 21 points. Both the quarterbacks had phenomenal performances this past season based on their surroundings, so the fanbase of one of the players was bound to get upset after the results came out.
The final tally:
Josh Allen: 27-22-1-0-0: 383
Lamar Jackson: 23-26-0-1-0: 362 https://t.co/cFwn873xTt— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 7, 2025
Allen joins Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, and Aaron Rodgers among the active quarterbacks who have won the MVP award. The accolade is an excellent representation of the amount of work he has put in since arriving in the league to become one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. However, he will not be satisfied until he wins a Super Bowl with the Bills, so it will be fascinating to see how he will approach the next season.