The 2024 NFL MVP race between Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen is one of the tightest competitions in recent memory. Both men played spectacularly throughout the regular season. Their playoff matchup has been equally intense. But so far, Allen has outplayed Jackson.
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The conversation around Allen and Jackson’s battle for MVP in Ryan Clark’s mind, has been “divisive.” Clark declared Allen did not had his “team playoff failures” dissected to a similar degree as Jackson. “You (Josh Allen) lost games where you played well, like the one to Patrick Mahomes, who is currently in the conversation for being one of the greatest ever, if he continues on his current trajectory. You lost to Joe Burrow,” he outlined on The Pivot podcast.
Clark also noted that neither signal-caller has ever reached the Super Bowl; they’ve both played in one AFC Championship. Meanwhile, he detailed why Sunday’s contest is “the next step in measuring greatness” for Lamar and Allen.
“This is the career-defining game that sets up the legacy game against… Patrick Mahomes. To me, it’s… how do both players just keep a singular focus on what this week is… they both understand the only thing standing between them and immortality is the dude that plays in Kansas City.”
Meanwhile, Buffalo beat Baltimore 27-25 in the Sunday showdown. Allen has two rushing touchdowns for the Bills, while Jackson has two turnovers (an interception and fumble).
Who will win the MVP race between Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson?
Sunday night’s stats and final score won’t decide who wins the MVP. That award, along with every other notable distinction the league offers, is voted on at the end of the regular season.
If historical precedent is to be believed, Jackson likely has the honor locked up. The same group that votes on All-Pro teams elects the league’s MVP. Jackson, with 30 first-place votes to Allen’s 18, earned the first-team quarterback spot. The last time a quarterback won MVP without earning first-team All-Pro status was 1987. That year, John Elway edged out Joe Montana, who split votes with teammate Jerry Rice.
Allen spent much of the season as the MVP favorite. When he wasn’t the leader in the odds, Jackson was. Whether Allen brings home his first MVP trophy or Jackson captures his third, one of them will be at the losing end. We’ll find out who that is during the NFL Honors on February 6, 2025.
