ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky was among the many who split their votes for MVP and First-team All-Pro between quarterbacks Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson—a phenomenon that has caused some confusion in the NFL world.
He explained why he did so on Friday’s edition of Get Up:
“The Bills were the No. 2 seed,” Orlovsky explained. “Josh had a 40-touchdown, eight-turnover, 14-sack season. The Bills didn’t have an elite defense. The Bills had a very good run game—not a great run game. They didn’t have elite perimeter players in any regard. The way that Josh played this season—and the different style that he played—brought tremendous value to their football team.”
“Lamar’s season was absolutely sensational,” he continued. “He was probably the best player in football this year. Or Ja’Marr Chase. Or Saquon Barkley. But value, and how much you impact your team, who you do it with, and who you do it against? That’s where I thought Josh Allen had the upper hand.”
Fellow analysts Dominque Foxworth and Jeff Saturday weren’t thrilled with the explanation—essentially laughing in Orlovsky’s face at the desk.
“Did he say most valuable player for his team?” asked Saturday. “Is this MVP of the league or of the Bills?”
“It does feel like you’re trying to split the baby,” said Foxworth. “You don’t got the heart to say what you actually want to say. I think both of them had MVP-caliber seasons, but it feels like you are trying to find some little semantics trap door so you can give this to him, and that to them. Because you don’t actually wanna say what you really wanna say: That Lamar Jackson had the best season this year.”
In the end, it was an extremely tight race for both awards. Of the 50 Associated Press ballots, Jackson captured 30 first-team All-Pro votes to Allen’s 18—with Joe Burrow receiving the other two—while Allen received 27 first-place votes for MVP to Jackson’s 23.
