About a year from now hotly contested campaignsthe NFL MVP race has given fans and pundits plenty to debate.
The race between Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Baltimore Ravens Quarterback Lamar Jackson has sparked a barrage of arguments on social media and sports talk shows in recent weeks. Allen is currently the odds-on favorite at -300 to win the prize, while Jackson has the second-best odds at +225.
Allen and Jackson make strong but somewhat different arguments for the award, with no clear consensus on which case is stronger.
For Allen, a fifth straight division title, a 13-3 record and a lone win against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs headline his campaign. Statistically, Allen’s 3,731 passing yards and 28 touchdown passes, along with 531 rushing yards with 12 touchdowns on the ground, anchor his MVP-caliber season, even though he doesn’t lead the league in any specific category.
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But Jackson makes a very different argument as the most statistically efficient player in the league this year. Jackson leads the league in touchdown percentage and passing yards per attempt, while also leading the entire league (quarterbacks and running backs) in rushing yards per carry. But Jackson’s statistical performance, compared to Allen’s, is weighed down by the fact that the Ravens have just 11 wins and haven’t clinched their division with a week to go.
Jackson’s Ravens also defeated Allen’s Bills 35-10 in their meeting this season.
These factors have earned Jackson the attention of several media voters, some of whom have publicly expressed their support for the Ravens star.
NFL insider Dianna Russini made it clear during an episode of the Scoop City podcast on Tuesday that she plans to vote for Jackson, citing superior statistical performance.
“I’m leaning against Lamar,” Russini said. “I don’t think Josh Allen did anything this weekend to make me say, ‘OK, he stole this thing.'”
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Meanwhile, FOX Sports NFL analyst and MVP pick Emmanuel Acho made the case in Allen’s favor during an episode of FS1’s “The Facility,” citing the fact that Buffalo has an inferior overall roster, especially on defense, compared to the Ravens. The Bills rank 20th in total defense this year, while the Ravens rank 14th. Jackson also has the advantage of being able to lean on multiple league leader Derrick Henry as a co-star, while Allen doesn’t have any major superstars in his offense.
“Simply put, Josh Allen has to do just as much, if not more, with less,” Acho said. “I was rewatching the Ravens game last night, and there were moments, if not most of the time, where I asked myself, ‘Who is the best player on the Ravens offense?’ I mean, make no mistake: Derrick Henry rushed for over 120 yards in that game. I’m sitting there watching this game, and I’m saying the Ravens offense has two Hall of Famers offenses Josh Allen.”
Meanwhile, NFL on CBS broadcaster and former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo made an argument that was both mocked and repeated by NFL fans in the debate. Romo argued that Allen should have a better shot at the award since he hasn’t won it yet, while Jackson already has two MVPs.
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‘I think they’re in my head. I think Josh Allen might only get the edge because Lamar has two. If Josh had two, you’d side with the guy who doesn’t have one. That’s just human. in my opinion, nature,” Romo said Sunday during the broadcast of the Bills’ victory over the New York Jets.
ESPN First Take host and former Super Bowl champion Ryan Clark has been one of Jackson’s most vocal supporters in this year’s MVP race. Clark argued that if Allen were chosen as MVP over Jackson, it would only be because voters have already awarded Jackson the award twice.
Both players have one more game to polish their respective MVP cases. However, it’s possible that Jackson will be the only player to do so this Sunday.
With the Bills having already clinched their division title and placed themselves in second place in the NFL playoffs, head coach Sean McDermott has said Allen will not play the entire game against the New England Patriots on Sunday. McDermott told reporters that Allen will start the game to maintain his current streak of starts for the team, but that he will come off the field early at some point.
Jackson will have to lead his team to a victory against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday to clinch the AFC North title for Baltimore.
If Jackson puts in another dominant performance while Allen sits on the bench for most of Sunday, it could change the current betting odds and change the race.
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