Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images
The NFL MVP conversation is going to extend through the remainder of the NFL season, with Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Saquon Barkley and even Joe Burrow having their backers.
Allen, at least, put his best foot forward yet again on Sunday.
The Buffalo Bills’ superstar threw for 182 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 17 yards and another score in his team’s 40-14 blowout win over the hapless New York Jets.
Buffalo Bills @BuffaloBills
Touchdown <a href=”https://twitter.com/JoshAllenQB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@JoshAllenQB</a>! <br><br>📺: <a href=”https://twitter.com/paramountplus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@paramountplus</a> & <a href=”https://twitter.com/NFLonCBS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@NFLonCBS</a> <a href=”https://t.co/PF6Lb7WaiJ”>pic.twitter.com/PF6Lb7WaiJ</a>
And there wasn’t any stat-padding in this one—the Bills sat Allen down for the entire fourth quarter with the contest well decided.
The Bills are now 13-3 on the season and have locked up the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs. For a number of fans and pundits, Allen has done enough this season to secure the MVP:
Adam Schein @AdamSchein
I’ll say it again.<br><br>Lamar has been majestic.<br><br>Burrow is on a heater.<br><br>Josh Allen remains the MVP. <br><br>He’s had a brilliant season for the ages. No player has been more VALUABLE to his team, which is about to clinch the 2 seed. Only QB to beat Chiefs in dominant win. <a href=”https://t.co/kVOyWw6meO”>https://t.co/kVOyWw6meO</a>
DueceBig @theREALdueceBIG
JOSH ALLEN IS UNEQUIVOCALLY THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE’S “M-V-P” ‼️💯 <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/mvp?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#mvp</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/joshallen?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#joshallen</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/BillsMafia?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#BillsMafia</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/bills?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#bills</a>
jonathan beatty @JBeatty616
Seriously if Josh Allen doesn’t win the MVP than it’s not about wins and where your team sits in the division/league, as it was for Lamar last year when Allen had the stats. Now it’s that Lamar’s got the stats over Allen. <br><br>Maybe make parameters for what criteria is needed to win
Let’s quickly review the MVP narratives being utilized to support the MVP cases of Allen, Jackson, Burrow and Barkley.
Allen has led the Bills to a 13-3 record despite losing playmakers like Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis in the offseason, remaining one of the elite two-way quarterbacks in the sport with 40 total touchdowns on the season.
Jackson has been a statistical monster, ranking fourth in the NFL with 3,955 passing yards and second in passing touchdowns (39) while also rushing for 852 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s led the Ravens back to the postseason and has them a victory away from winning a second straight AFC North title.
Barkley has eclipsed 2,000 rushing yards and is within striking distance of Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record (2,105 yards), though the Eagles may have nothing to play for in Week 18 and could treat the final game of the season as a de facto bye before heading into the playoffs.
And Burrow leads the NFL in both passing yards (4,641 yards) and passing touchdowns (42), all while completing 69.8 percent of his passes. But the Bengals are just 8-8 and in danger of missing the playoffs altogether which—fair or not—will potentially be an argument against his MVP candidacy.
No matter how it shakes out, it will likely be an incredibly close vote, and Allen is a more than deserving candidate. He showed as much again on Sunday.
