Lamar Jackson has proven that he deserves to win the MVP award over Josh Allen.
For much of the season the MVP race has seemingly been between Jackson and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Allen seemed to be in position to salt things away in Week 16 against the New England Patriots, but he struggled and picked up an injury to his throwing hand along the way that impacted his play late in the game.
By all indications, Allen’s hand is fine, but with Buffalo likely looking to protect him over their final two games, that has opened the door for Jackson to win the award for the second straight year. And against the Texans, Jackson proved exactly why he should end up winning the award over his fellow star quarterback in Allen.
Lamar Jackson’s case to win MVP over Josh Allen
Jackson has already won a pair of MVP awards in his seven-year career, with both being unique in their own right. In 2019, Jackson took the league by storm with his duel-threat abilities, and was the easy choice for the award. In 2023, Jackson wasn’t nearly as dominant, but a lack of other real contenders for the award made it so that he ran away with the win.
In order for a player to repeat as an MVP, they have to do something truly special. While Allen’s play for the Bills has been great, on paper, Jackson has done enough to win the award. He’s putting up the best numbers of his career, while also leading Baltimore to the top of the AFC North after a slow start to the season.
Beyond that, Jackson is also a force on the ground as a runner. He’s racked up 852 yards and four touchdowns on 130 carries, with his 6.6 yards per carry being tops in the league. Jackson has had more dominant seasons as a runner, such as in 2019, when he ran for 1,206 yards and seven scores, but he’s taken so many strides as a passer since then that it has balanced things out.
This all goes to say that, statistically speaking, this is the best season of Jackson’s career, which is saying a lot since he’s already won a pair of MVP awards. Conversely, Allen has put up bigger numbers before, and not taken home the award. While Jackson has admittedly played in one more game than Allen, he has better numbers than his top MVP competitor in nearly every stat.
Through 15 games, Allen has racked up 3,549 passing yards and 26 touchdowns with six interceptions to boot. He has also run for 514 yards and 11 touchdowns in 97 carries, while also picking up a unique receiving touchdown in their win over the San Francisco 49ers. At his best, Allen has been better than Jackson, but his counting stats do not compare to the Ravens superstar currently.
Further boosting Jackson’s chances of winning the award is the fact that Allen could end up sitting out Buffalo’s season finale against the New England Patriots should the team pick up a win over the New York Jets in Week 17. Even if he does play, that likely means the Bills lost to the lowly Jets, which would further hurt his MVP case. Jackson, meanwhile, has to play in Week 18, as Baltimore will look to lock up the AFC North.
There’s still some time for things to change, and an explosive bounce back performance from Allen could make things interesting, but even then, his numbers wouldn’t compare to Jackson. Voter fatigue for Jackson is real, but there’s simply no argument when breaking things down, and when all is said and done, he should walk away with the third MVP award of his career.
