Josh Allen had overcome obstacles throughout his football career, starting when he was a zero-star quarterback coming out of high school with no Division One offers.
It would have been easy for Allen to avoid playing football in college and instead pursue something else with his life. But that wasn’t what the California native had in mind.
Allen went to Reedley Community College for one season before transferring to the University of Wyoming, where he spent three years becoming a household college name.
Buffalo selected the Wyoming star with the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, and the rest is history.
Allen had serious question marks coming out of college regarding accuracy and turnover issues, but his 6-foot-5, 240-pound frame was too great to pass up.
It took Allen a few NFL seasons to figure out his accuracy issue, as he only completed 52.8% of his passes in year one.
On Thursday night, six years after his first professional season, Allen was awarded the NFL MVP. He received 27 to 23 first-place votes, beating out Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Allen Beats out Jackson
There has been much pushback against Allen winning the MVP award since Jackson had much better stats. However, the MVP is the most valuable player and has nothing to do with how great your stats are.
Jackson was excellent this year, throwing for 4,172 yards, 41 touchdowns, and four interceptions while rushing 915 yards and four scores.
The Ravens won the AFC North, finishing with a 12-5 record, but Jackson had little more help than what Allen was working with.
Jackson had a Top Five running back behind him in Derrick Henry, a solid wide receiver, Zay Flowers, a great tight end in Mark Andrews, and an excellent defense.
It felt like Jackson was when Kevin Durant played for the Golden State Warriors. He could play freely because Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green were around him.
On the other hand, it felt like Allen was 2018 Lebron James, who didn’t have much talent around him other than an injured Kevin Love and still went on a great playoff run.
The Buffalo Bills traded away their number-one playmaker, Stefon Diggs, and lost their second wide receiver, Gabe Davis, in free agency.
Allen lost his playmakers this past offseason, but the Bills remained the second-best team in the AFC, beating the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions, the two best teams in the regular season.
Stats Aren’t the Story
Allen’s stats don’t compare to those of Jackson or Joe Burrow: He threw for 3,731 yards, 28 touchdowns, six interceptions, and 531 rushing yards for 12 scores. But his presence on the field and ability to do almost everything on offense are why he’s the MVP.
It would’ve been easy to give the award to Jackson since he had the best stats, even though he won it last year when Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was better than him. Prescott threw for 4,516 yards and a league-high 36 touchdowns, while Jackson threw for 3,678 yards and 24 scores.
You know why Jackson won the MVP last season because the Ravens went 13-4 and had the best record in the AFC when the Ravens lost their number one running back, J.K. Dobbins, with an Achilles tear in Week One, and a rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers carrying the receiving game.
Watch the Bills play and ask yourself if this team could function at even an average level without him.
Without Allen, Buffalo would be a five-win team. I’m not saying the Ravens would have won many more games without Jackson, but they have a hall-of-fame head coach in John Harbaugh and even made the playoffs a few years ago with Tyler Huntley playing at the end of the season.
It’s okay, Allen won the MVP because he was the only possible winner, and hopefully, next season, the Bills will be more worried about the most outstanding award in the sport winning the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
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