Who should win NFL MVP? Josh Allen vs. Lamar Jackson stats, odds
Josh Allen seemed to have the Most Valuable Player award under wraps. Defending league MVP Lamar Jackson made a late-season surge.
Allen is deserving of the award but if he doesn’t win, the Buffalo Bills quarterback could be the runner-up for the third time in his career. Being beaten out by the Baltimore Ravens quarterback in All-Pro voting may be a precursor.
Jackson was named to the NFL All-Pro first team with 30 first-place votes, besting Allen, who had 18 first-place votes. Allen was selected to the All-Pro second team.
With another MVP award, Jackson would join Peyton Manning (5), Aaron Rodgers (4), Jim Brown (3), Johnny Unitas (3), Brett Favre (3) and Tom Brady (3) as the only players with three or more.
A quarterback has won MVP 11 consecutive times, with Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers and Jackson accounting for the last six.
The MVP recipient will be announced at the NFL Honors show at 9 p.m. on Feb. 6.
The MVP case for Josh Allen
Allen entered the season with lower expectations minus Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis. He’s done more with less, putting together the most statistically-efficient season of his career. Allen has broken astonishing NFL records with eye-popping games and led the Bills (13-4) to a better record than Jackson’s Ravens (12-5). Buffalo defeated both of this year’s No. 1 seeds, Kansas City and Detroit.
Allen became the first player with: 40 or more touchdowns in five straight seasons; and three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns in a game. He’s the only quarterback in NFL history to record a passing, rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game.
Buffalo led the AFC in points (30.1 per game) and committed eight turnovers, tied for fewest in a season in league history. Allen was sacked at the lowest rate in the NFL.
Allen is the best player who means the most to his team. Jackson is complemented Derrick Henry, who led the AFC with 1,921 rushing yards, and a top 10 defense in yards allowed and points per game.
“Josh Allen is the MVP,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott said. “I’ve been around this league long enough to know, to see MVPs every year for many years, and what he has done on this team and this organization, in this community, and no offense to anybody else, but I have a hard time believing that someone’s done more.”
The MVP case for Lamar Jackson
Jackson has better numbers than when he won MVP last year.
He set a record for fewest interceptions with more than 40 touchdown passes in a season and posted the fourth-highest single-season passer rating in NFL history. The other quarterbacks with higher passer ratings, Peyton Manning in 2004 and Aaron Rodgers in 2011 and 2020, each won MVP.
Jackson became the first player to lead the NFL in yards per pass attempt (8.8) and yards per rush attempt (6.6) in the same season. He is the only player ever to accrue 4,000 yards passing and 900 yards rushing in a single year.
Jackson won the head-to-head matchup against Allen when Baltimore defeated Buffalo 35-10 in Week 4.
Josh Allen vs. Lamar Jackson 2024 stats
Completion percentage
- Allen 63.6% (307 of 483), Jackson 66.7% (316 of 474)
Passing yards
- Allen 3,371, Jackson 4,172
Passing touchdowns
Interceptions
Sacked
Passer rating
- Allen 101.4, Jackson 119.6
QBR
Rushing yards
Rushing yards per carry
Rushing touchdowns
Total touchdowns
- Allen 41 (1 receiving), Jackson 45
NFL MVP odds
Allen was the favorite to win MVP over Jackson before the All-Pro teams were reported. He was a -400 favorite at the conclusion of the season.
The MVP odds shifted to Jackson’s favor after he was named to the All-Pro first team on Friday.
Sportsbooks pulled MVP odds from their sites after the All-Pro announcement.
When were Lamar Jackson’s MVP seasons?
Lamar Jackson is a two-time league MVP. He won the AP NFL Most Valuable Player Award in 2019 and 2023. Jackson was a unanimous selection in 2019, earning all 50 first-place votes. He garnered 49 of 50 votes in 2023, with Josh Allen receiving the only other first-place vote.
Josh Allen’s MVP voting finishes
Josh Allen has been the runner-up twice, in 2020 and 2023. Allen finished second in MVP voting in 2020, with the award going to then-Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He was second again in 2023, receiving one first-place vote to Lamar Jackson’s 49.
