Lamar Jackson Finishes Behind Josh Allen In Mvp Voting

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Oct 30, 2025, 9:27 AM

lamar jackson finishes behind josh allen in mvp voting

Lamar Jackson had his finest season yet in 2024, but it surprisingly did not result in a third NFL MVP award. After months of heated debate, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen edged out Jackson in the voting from 50 sports journalists. Allen received 27 first-place votes to Jackson's 23, giving Allen his first career MVP award. Team insiders Ryan Mink and Garrett Downing react to Josh Allen winning MVP over Lamar Jackson after Jackson's record-breaking 2024 season, as well as the Hall of Fame voting and other NFL Honors. Jackson was a unanimous league MVP in 2019 and came just one vote short of doing it again in 2023. Even though he posted career bests across the board this season, it wasn't enough to take home more hardware.

Jackson beat out Allen in the NFLPA vote cast by players. Jackson was the Pro Football Writers of America MVP winner. He was a first-team All-Pro, which was voted on by the same people that vote on league MVP. Just like the Buffalo Bills' 27–25 win over the Baltimore Ravens in the divisonal round, the MVP voting between quarterbacks Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson went right down to the wire. Allen was officially crowned the 2024 NFL MVP on Thursday night at the NFL Honors award show in New Orleans, edging Jackson by a small margin. According to AP NFL writer Rob Maaddi, Allen received 27 first-place votes, 22 second-place votes and one third-place vote for a total of 383 voting points.

Jackson, on the other hand, landed 23 first-place votes, 26 second-place votes and one fourth-place vote for a total of 362 voting points. In terms of first-place votes, the four-vote margin is the closest finish in an MVP race since 2003 when Peyton Manning and Steve McNair were named co-MVPs. In 17 games this season, Allen threw for 3,731 yards with 28 touchdowns and six interceptions—adding up to a 101.4 passer rating, his best mark since 2020. The 2024 NFL season was filled with hotly contested debates such as: However, no debate has been bigger than "Who deserves the MVP Award?" Should Lamar Jackson, fresh off another historic season, arguably better than last year's campaign when he won his second MVP, be granted his third honor?

Should Josh Allen, who managed to carry Buffalo to the No. 2 seed in the AFC despite throwing to Khalil Shakir and a washed-up Amari Cooper? What about Saquon Barkley, who became just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards? All of these players have legitimate claims to the award, but only one could end up walking away with it. At this year's NFL Honors, it wound up being Allen. Here's a full breakdown of the voting results.

Allen beat out Jackson, who had previously won the award twice. It's considered the closest MVP race since former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan beat out former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in 2016. Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen, AP Most valuable player speaks during the NFL Honors award show ahead of the Super Bowl 59 football game, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Josh Allen, of the Buffalo Bills, and his fiancé, Hailee Steinfeld, pose on the red carpet at the NFL Honors award show ahead of the Super Bowl 59 football game, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) NEW ORLEANS (AP) — For the past 11 seasons, being named the AP first-team All-Pro quarterback was a prelude to winning the NFL’s MVP award. There was some logic to that with quarterbacks providing the most value to a team and the same panel picking the All-Pro team and all of the awards. There was a rare flip this year with Buffalo’s Josh Allen narrowly edging Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson in the MVP voting announced Thursday night after finishing second in All-Pro voting revealed last month.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Learn more > Every year, the NFL reveals its award winners at the annual NFL Honors ceremony. Along with the individual player awards, we will also learn the 2025 NFL Hall of Fame class. We had predicted that there was going to be controversy around the MVP Award and there was. Bills quarterback Josh Allen won the award, with Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in second.

In the voting system, Allen tallied 383 total points to Jackson's 362, making it one of the closest MVP races in history. Eagles running back Saquon Barkley won the AP's Offensive Player of the Year Award, but he didn't come close to Allen or Jackson in MVP voting. Allen's MVP was surprising to some, as he was named the Second-Team All-Pro QB behind Jackson on the First-Team. It was the first time since 1987 that the First-Team All-Pro QB lost MVP to another quarterback. Updated on February 07, 2025 07:30AM EDT Tom Brady was among the voters for the NFL MVP Award at the NFL Honors.

The multiple-time Super Bowl champion selected Lamar Jackson as his top choice, but in the end, it was his second pick, Josh Allen, who took home the award. Beyond his top two selections, Brady’s third choice for MVP was Saquon Barkley, the Philadelphia Eagles running back set to play in Super Bowl LIX against the Chiefs. Barkley was also a popular third-choice pick among other reporters, including Dianna Russini and Mike Florio. For his fourth and fifth picks, Brady was one of the few to cast a vote for Ja’Marr Chase—only four people included the Bengals receiver in their selections. His fifth and final vote went to Joe Burrow, who received multiple votes from other reporters, though mostly as a third or fourth option. Brady knows that the MVP award is almost always won by a quarterback, but by including Saquon Barkley, he’s sending a message to other running backs that it’s also possible to make it into...

It also highlights the perspective of a former player like him in the voting process. To stream WGRZ on your phone, you need the WGRZ app. Example video title will go here for this video Example video title will go here for this video ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — For the past 11 seasons, being named the AP first-team All-Pro quarterback was a prelude to winning the NFL’s MVP award.

There was some logic to that with quarterbacks providing the most value to a team and the same panel picking the All-Pro team and all of the awards. Josh Allen is officially the NFL’s Most Valuable Player for the 2024 season, but it definitely ended up being something of a photo finish. The Buffalo Bills quarterback Allen was officially announced at the 2025 NFL Honors on Thursday to have won league MVP. Allen becomes the first Bills QB to ever win the award as well as the third Bills player overall (after running backs OJ Simpson and Thurman Thomas). MVP JOSH@JoshAllenQB @Invisalign #NFLHonors pic.twitter.com/R1xoJTIQ5l A moment that MVP Josh Allen will cherish for the rest of his life @Invisalign

Lamar Jackson Finishes Behind Josh Allen In Mvp Voting

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