FOX Sports host and NFL MVP voter Emmanuel Acho feels as though this may be the year Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen earns his first NFL MVP award.
It was an, in hindsight, amusing talking point that was used to fill countless hours of daytime sports programming throughout the offseason: Can Josh Allen elevate a lesser supporting cast?
The Buffalo Bills’ offensive plan became evident early in the offseason when they allowed both Gabriel Davis and Stefon Diggs to depart Orchard Park: construct the weapons corps of talented, but comparatively affordable options and let their otherworldly quarterback do the rest. Those around Western New York did not question Allen’s feasibility as an offensive load bearer, as he’s been elevating his weapons throughout the majority of his professional career; there was a contingent of national pundits, however, who felt as though Allen would struggle with an unspectacular receiving corps, would ‘self-destruct’ when met with a lack of marquee weapons to throw to.
The passer expectedly silenced doubters in Buffalo’s Week 1 win over the Arizona Cardinals, totaling four total scores as he completed 78% of his passes and accounted for 271 total yards. He spread the rock around his reworked weapons corps, targeting 10 different players and connecting with nine of them. He elevated an, on paper, unremarkable and unproven offense into one of the league’s most efficient units, constructing one of the most impressive signal-caller performances of Week 1.
Former NFL linebacker and current FOX Sports personality Emmanuel Acho spoke about Allen’s debut outing of the campaign during a recent episode of The Facility, praising his ability to elevate his receiving corps. Acho, who is an NFL MVP voter, also provided a bit of insight into where his mind currently is regarding this year’s Most Valuable Player.
“I look at everything with a keen eye, especially knowing I’m an MVP voter,” Acho said. “This looks like a year Josh Allen will win MVP. Number one, you think about how he elevates all the players around him. I saw Mack Hollins catch a touchdown pass on a quick slant route. For those that don’t know, Mack Hollins really came into the league as a special teams player, often for the Philadelphia Eagles, and then went to the Miami Dolphins and I think he was with the Atlanta Falcons, maybe with the Raiders for a second there. Mack Hollins is not known as a dominant wide receiver. Josh Allen is helping Mack Hollins get into the endzone.
“Keon Coleman, he was the best rookie wide receiver on the football field, a football field that had a rookie wide receiver named Marvin Harrison Jr. Make that make sense. Josh Allen helped elevate his game. James Cook, not just in the running game but in the passing game, Josh Allen is helping elevate his game. When you think about the most valuable player in football, not just what you do for yourself, what do you do for everybody around you? This looks like one of those years, those Josh Allen elevation years. To me, Josh Allen wasn’t just the most impressive player on the field. When you look at every game thus far through the weekend, he was the most impressive player in the National Football League.”
Allen is no stranger to earning NFL MVP votes, as he’s done so in three of the last four seasons. His best performance in the vote came in 2020 when he finished second to then-Green Bay Packers signal-caller Aaron Rodgers; Allen has since finished third in 2022 and fifth in 2023 (earning first-place votes in each season). The Buffalo passer had marquee weapons in all of these seasons, however, something that perhaps prevented some voters from fully attributing the Bills’ offensive success to their quarterback; those questions do not exist this season, so if Allen can produce at the same rate he has in recent years, his resume may be undeniable.