It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is in the NFL MVP conversation this year. Since his breakout season in 2020, Allen has been one of the most polarizing names with regard to discourse about the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award. There have been strong arguments made on both sides of the spectrum; without Allen, the Bills would not be the team they are today: a perennial Super Bowl contender that can go toe to toe with any other powerhouse in the AFC. That, by definition, fits the criteria for the league’s most prestigious individual award.
However, we are still in a world where Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson exist — Mahomes won the award in 2022 and Jackson in 2023. Both players have also put up otherworldly numbers and are crucial to the success of their teams.
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The key differentiator between the three quarterbacks, in the eyes of analysts, fans, and MVP voters alike, has been the amount of turnovers each one has committed. In Mahomes’ MVP season, he accounted for 45 total touchdowns while only throwing 12 interceptions. That year, Allen’s ratio was 42 total touchdowns to 15 interceptions. In Jackson’s 2023 MVP season, the Ravens’ quarterback scored only 29 touchdowns but limited his interceptions to seven. He was also the leader of arguably the best all-around team in the NFL, falling short only to Kansas City in the AFC Championship game. In 2023, Josh Allen scored 44 total touchdowns compared to 18 interceptions.
This season’s ratios, however, look a bit different compared to the last two years. The constants have remained — the MVP race so far, whether you agree with it or not, is still a three headed one between Mahomes, Jackson, and Allen. With the midway point of the season around the corner, Mahomes has performed the worst in the trio to the tune of nine total touchdowns and nine interceptions. The Chiefs, however, keep finding ways to win and are the only undefeated team remaining. Jackson, who helped trounce the Bills in Week 4, has 19 total touchdowns and only two interceptions. He just took a loss to the now 2-6 Cleveland Browns, which may hurt his odds. Allen, who just came off a dominant performance over the Seattle Seahawks, has jumped into the driver’s seat of the race with his 17 total touchdowns to one interception ratio.
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Allen’s performance this season has been a consistent topic of conversation in the weekly NFL news cycle, but the hype surrounding him has grown — especially after the win in Seattle. ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky, during his weekly appearance on WGR 550’s One Bills Live, weighed in on the Allen for MVP hype.
“But Josh [Allen]… there’s no question is [in] that top two, top three spot in the MVP race,” he stated. “I would fully expect him to, you know, remain there and consistently be there. And if they continue to win, it’s gonna be hard to not give it to him.”
Dan Orlovsky also praised the Bills as a whole, and compared them to the Chiefs and Ravens. “There’s . . . like, 2 teams that I trust in the AFC. Kansas City, I absolutely trust, and then Buffalo, I trust. Now there’s a little bit of how good, you know, is the defense because some of the pieces, like, how healthy can Bernard and Taron stay? But I trust those two teams top to bottom. Baltimore is a very good football team. I don’t trust their defense when it matters the most.
“I would give Kansas City the advantage still in my opinion as a team. Their defense is a dominant defense, and I think their offense will settle in. Hop was a good addition. But I’m surprised, candidly, I thought Buffalo would be good this year. I didn’t think that I would have them in my mind at least as the, at worst, second best team or second most trusted team in that conference.”
Allen has a chance to further improve his status in the MVP race at Highmark Stadium this Sunday when the Bills take on the Miami Dolphins.