His stats don’t tell the whole story

On By Littum

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  • Buffalo Bills Quarterback Josh Allen won the NFL MVP prize over Lamar Jackson and other top competitions.
  • While other players had better statistical seasons, Allen was crucial to the success of the bill.

Josh Allen was named MVP for the NFL on Thursday night, and predictably exploded social media platforms, and several of the windy morning show hosts were in weapons over what they perceived as a gross injustice.

When Buffalo Bill’s fans proudly rejoiced because their guy became just the third winner of the award in team history, where he joined OJ Simpson in 1973 and Thurman Thomas in 1991, outside Bill’s nation you would think a crime had been committed Against humanity when the Associated Press vote Bloc denied Baltimore Ravens Quarterback Lamar Jackson his third MVP.

The question I have on this Friday is, why are so many people so furious with this? You would think voters handed the award to Bill’s Backup Quarterback Mitch Trubisky rather than Allen.

Why would I have voted for Josh Allen to be NFL MVP

I don’t have a voting on the price, but if I did, Allen would have been my choice last year when he definitely deserved it instead of Jackson, and also this year, and that in no way has anything to do with bias. Believe me, that’s not the case.

Allen was MVP this season, and the key letter in that abbreviation is the middle one, what stands for “valuable.”

All the other top four voting dishes – Jackson, Saquon Barkley from Eagles, Joe Burrow from Bengals and Jared Goff from Lions – had unique seasons and there is no argument for that point.

In fact, the numbers would tell you that these four statistically had better seasons than Allen.

Jackson, Goff and Burrow finished 1-2-3 in passers-by; Burrow led the NFL in passing finishes, shipyards and TDS; Jackson threw 41 TDs, had only four interceptions, and he also ran in 915 yards to become the first player in the NFL story to top 4,000 passers -by and 900 rushing in the same season; Goff led Lions to a holding record 15 wins and ended up in second place behind Burrow in passing yards and tied to the third in passers -by TDs; And Barkley led the NFL to rush with 2,005 when he became the ninth race back in history to the top 2,000.

Josh Allen -Statistics don’t tell the whole story

Meanwhile, Allen ended eighth in passing rating, 14. On yards, tied up to seventh in TD passes, and he reinforced the decent numbers with 531 rushing yards and 12 TDs, giving him 41 total TDs, fourth most in The league. He also had only eight revenue and was fired by a league low 14 times.

In fact, the number against Allen works, which is why Jackson was chosen correctly by a very similar group of voters as the first team of all-pro quarterback. This honor was to go to the player with the best combination of statistics and team success, and by 2024 it was Jackson, although weird in 2023 that the player was Allen, but Jackson still got nodded, and even more ridiculous Dallas’ Dak Prescott knocked Allen out of Allen for recognition of other team.

Buffalo Bills‘Success is because of Josh Allen

But here’s the thing: None of these players were so valuable to their team or more responsible for their team’s success than Allen was for the bills. Where are the bills like without their superstar -quarterback? The mafia will not hear this, but they are pretty mediocre is what they are.

Jackson is surrounded by stars in Baltimore when four of his teammates joined him on the first and second All-Pro teams, and Ravens had a league-high nine players who voted for Pro Bowl.

Four lions made the all-pro-teams and Goff was one of seven voted into the Pro Bowl. Burrow had the league’s No. 1 wide recipient in all-pro Ja’marr Chase, the league’s baggage in Trey Hendrickson, and still not Bengals failed to finish the playoffs. And Barkley, also surrounded by stars, is a running back and fair or not, it’s just not the same value as a quarterback in the eyes of the MVP voters.

Allen was Buffalo’s only all-project player, and the only other bill that was originally elected to Pro Bowl was left Dion Dawkins, but Allen led the laws to 13 wins and a fifth straight AFC East Division title, two impressive playoff- wins, and was a failed possession away on the road in the AFC Championship game from deterring Kansas City Chiefs and catapulating Buffalo to his first Super Bowl since the 1993 season.

Again, he did it with a list that is definitely good, but one that is hard missing in the top spoken talent.

Look at the star-studded guards of the two Super Bowl teams, Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, who had a combined 10 players selected first or second team All-Pro and 11 voted for Pro Bowl. Take quarterbacks out of the mixture, and then throw each player on the bills, bosses and eagles in a pool and choose a super team. How many bills would be starters?

Maybe Christian Benford would be one of Cornerbacks when Pro Football Focus focused him as the sixth best defender on the position, but Kansas City’s Trent McDuffie was another team of all-pro and Philadelphia’s Quinyon Mitchell made the NFL’s all-rookie team and was very much Close to Benford in PFF’s classification.

Perhaps Khalil Shakir as a castle receiver would get nodded, hardly in front of Philadelphia’s Devonta Smith and Kansas City’s Xavier Worthy, which none of them were full -time casters, but could be more talented than Shakir.

And maybe Greg Rousseau on Edge Rusher in front of George Karlaftis from Chiefs, though it is a coin flip as both players had eight sacks and Rousseau had a small edge in pressure, 63-61.

Is there anyone else? Probably not.

Left Tackle Dion Dawkins is perhaps Bills’ second best player behind Allen, but Eagles Lt Jordan Mailata was selected for another team all-pro behind Tampa Bay’s Tristan Wirfs. And based on PFF qualities, Wirfs and Mailata ranked 1-2 in the overall performance among all tackles, while Dawkins were 13 ..

At the second tackle space, Spencer Brown doesn’t hit the other team All-Pro Lane Johnson from Eagles.

Do you take James Cook by running back over Barkley? Ed Oliver by defensive tackle over Chris Jones from Chiefs? The current version of Linebacker Matt Milano over Philadelphia’s Zack Baun, who just ended fifth in the NFL Defensive Player of the Year vote? No, no and no.

This is my case as to why Allen was the right choice for MVP. No one plays shouldered the amount of burden like Allen and delivered a performance like his.

Sal Maiorana has covered Buffalo Bills for four decades, including 35 years as a full -time stroke writer for F&C, and he has written several books on the team’s history. He can be reached at [email protected] and you can follow him on x @salmaiorana and on bluesky @salmaiora.bsky.social. Sign up for Hans Bills Blast Newsletter here: