The 2024 NFL MVP race between Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen is shaping up to be one of the most tightly contested in recent memory. Both quarterbacks played spectacularly throughout the regular season. And their playoff matchup was intense, where Allen got the better of Jackson, dashing the Baltimore Ravens QB’s Super Bowl hopes. That result won’t affect the MVP race. But the “divisive” banter around it perplexes Ryan Clark, who felt Allen’s “failures”, particularly in the postseason, have not been dissected to the same degree as Jackson’s.
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Much like Jackson, the Buffalo Bills QB has also lost games when it mattered, including two consecutive Divisional Round matchups — one against Patrick Mahomes last season and the other against Joe Burrow the year before.
“You [Allen] lost to Joe Burrow… You [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,” said Clark on The Pivot podcast.
Clark added that neither signal-caller has ever reached the Super Bowl; they’ve both played in one AFC Championship. He then detailed why Sunday’s contest was “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,” he said.
Beating Mahomes has become a yardstick of success, and Clark wants to use it to measure Allen and Jackson. “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,” he added.
In their direct showdown on Sunday, Allen triumphed with Buffalo beating Baltimore 27-25. Allen had two rushing touchdowns for the Bills, while Jackson recorded two turnovers (an interception and a fumble). Of course, the postseason result will not have a bearing on the MVP race.
Who’ll win the tight MVP race between Allen and Jackson?
The MVP award, and every other notable distinction the NFL offers, is voted on at the end of the regular season. Going by historical precedent, 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, had earned him the first-team quarterback spot. The last time a quarterback won MVP without earning first-team All-Pro status was in 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. But for the most part, Allen has remained on top.
After the regular season, Allen led the NFL MVP odds at -450, followed by Jackson at +320. He previously stood at -900, but a loss to the struggling New England Patriots dropped it to -550.
Statistically speaking, it would be his award to lose if Jackson gets his third MVP crown on February 6.
