Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen had an early end to his season on Sunday, but the debate over his MVP resume is still going strong.
Allen indicated he would have a short stint in Sunday’s season finale against the New England Patriots and did just that, coming out after handing off the ball on one play and being replaced by Mitch Trubisky. The play allowed Allen to extend his starting streak to 105 games, the most among active quarterbacks, while also keeping him healthy for the start of the playoffs next week.
Allen’s early exit sparked new debate over whether he should earn the first MVP award of his career or if it would go to Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson for a third time.
Josh Allen’s MVP Case Now Closed
Sunday’s early exit meant Allen finished the season with his stats unchanged from the previous week. Allen completed 63.6% of his passes for 3,737 yards with 28 touchdowns and six interceptions. Allen added another 12 rushing touchdowns and one touchdown reception, making him the first player in NFL history to top 40 total touchdowns in five consecutive seasons.
As the NFL Network’s Michael F. Florio noted, Allen ended the season as the odds-on favorite to win MVP.
“Andddd Josh Allen season is over. Pencils down for MVP race,” Florio wrote in a post on X. “He walks off the field as the MVP favorite. Even his lowest odds have him at about 70% chance to win. We’ll find out in Feb! Onto the playoffs…”
Plenty of media members — many of them MVP voters — have sounded off on the race and their thoughts between Allen and Jackson. There are plenty of arguments on both sides. Jackson finished the season with better statistics than Allen, but backers of the Bills quarterback noted that Jackson won the award last year based on the strength of his team’s wins despite the fact that Jackson did not crack the top 10 in either yards or passing touchdowns.
ESPN’s Ryan Clark said during NFL Countdown that the narrative surrounding Buffalo’s season could work in Allen’s favor.
“It is a narrative driven award, and the narrative coming into the season was that the Buffalo Bills would not be competitive because they didn’t have enough with some of the losses,” Clark said, via Newsweek. “if that’s the narrative, and now the team plays well, then it has to be about MVP moments.”
There are some wild card opinions as well, including former NFL coach John Gruden who suggested that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is deserving of the award.
Bills Preparing for Playoffs
The Bills lost to the Patriots 23-16, with Tribusky playing into the second half before being replaced by third-stringer Mike White.
After the game, Bills head coach Sean McDermott said his team is now solely focused on the playoffs.
“Everything is earned and there’s nothing given in the playoffs,” he said. “And you’re going against the best every week, so we start with one week and really one day at a time and get back in here and find out when we play and take it one day at a time.”
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