Lamar Jackson is likely the NFL MVP, but should we redefine the award?

On By Littum

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Lamar Jackson will most likely be the NFL’s 2024 MVP.

But should he be?

As is usually the case, the MVP debate has been a lively one this season. Should Jackson, who has already won the award twice, be recognized on the heels of what was — statistically, at least — the biggest campaign of his seven-season career, albeit aided and abetted by a loaded roster that featured the remaining Derrick Henry welcome this season? Should it be the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen, whose numbers don’t quite measure up to Jackson’s? Still, that doesn’t at all detract from the fact that Allen all but neutralized his penchant for turnover while largely having a team that was stripped of a lot of talent due to its bloated salary cap.

(And given what we’ve seen this weekend, perhaps the merits of cases from Philadelphia Eagles’ Saquon Barkley and Washington Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels should be re-examined as well. Also, if you could have one player in the league to build around, what is chances are you are not takes Patrick Mahomes?)

Granted, this is really more thought exercise than heartfelt debate on behalf of any of these deserving candidates. The hay is in the barn, as they say, and voting for the MVP award by the Associated Press’ 50-person panel closes on Jan. 8, a few days before the playoffs begin. (And yes, I have a ballot, but no, I won’t — and can’t — reveal my choice right now.) However, Jackson has already been revealed as a first-team All-Pro quarterback — named as such by the same group of voters, a very strong indication that he will be the MVP as well.

But back to the original question here. I don’t question Jackson’s candidacy that much – and he was fantastic this season – because I don’t think he’s worthy. It’s more of a creeping feeling that perhaps this award—and MVP honors across all leagues in general—shouldn’t be limited by the confines of a regular season. I mean, by definition, doesn’t a “most valuable player” want his team in the mix to compete for a championship? The last NFL MVP whose team did not qualify for the playoffs was … OJ Simpson. In 1973. Which is not to say that, say, the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow shouldn’t have been eligible that season, but with all due respect to his supporters (Troy Aikman, for example), Burrow did really part of the conversation anyway?

MVPs should be authenticated by championships – or at least be in the same area code. Right? Tom Brady and Michael Jordan should probably have at least 10 league MVPs. (Seven-time Super Bowl winner Brady has three. Six-time NBA champion Jordan has five. Heresy.) And by my own proposed definition, it would be fine to honor the likes of Charles Barkley or Karl Malone or Matt Ryan or Cam Newton or Adrian Peterson— or heck, Aaron Rodgers—for excellence, even if their teams ultimately fell short in the brass ring. (Though all four of Rodgers’ MVPs were awarded after he won his lone Super Bowl appearance at the end of the 2010 season … which makes such an accolade feel a bit emptier in retrospect? Maybe ?)

Back to Jackson and the NFL, which is distinctly unique from other major North American sports leagues because of its single-elimination postseason format. I was in Baltimore during the 2019 playoffs, which began after a magical year for the top-seeded Ravens and Jackson, who would win his first MVP. Still, the team was blown out by the sixth-seeded Tennessee Titans, and Henry was clearly the best player on the field that night. Jackson didn’t come close to living up to his MVP billing in last year’s AFC Championship game for the Kansas City Chiefs.

And it pretty much happened again Sunday, with Jackson turning the ball over twice in a game for the first time this season. And maybe he was the best player on the court in Western New York, but over the entire weekend? To his credit, Jackson put the critical spotlight on himself.

“I had two costly turnovers,” he said after his playoff record fell to 3-5. “Threw a (expletive) interception.

“Protecting the ball, that’s the first priority. And we didn’t do that — especially me, I’m the leader. I’ve got to protect the ball, you know? So I’m hot.”

Jackson is worthy of so many superlatives and should probably already be considered the greatest dual-threat quarterback in NFL history. But should a player who has never reached Super Sunday and consistently shows that he doesn’t back down when his team needs him the most be a multiple MVP winner? (If Jackson wins it this season, he’ll be the seventh three-time NFL MVP … but only one among that group without a championship.)

Again, this isn’t so much a criticism of a fixture like Jackson, but more consideration that these prices aren’t actually representative of what they should be. And the Ravens’ recent failure underscores that — and yes, Jackson almost brought them back, though it clearly wasn’t the best performance by him … or poor tight end Mark Andrews.

But juxtapose that with Allen, who once again did exactly what he was supposed to do while helping the Bills advance to the AFC Championship. The numbers were modest (127 yards passing, 20 yards and a pair of TDs rushing), but the results certainly weren’t.

“Josh Allen is the MVP. I’m sick of all the (talk). Josh Allen is the MVP,” Bills Pro Bowl left tackle Dion Dawkins told NFL Network after Saturday’s win.

“Buffalo Bills are one step closer.”

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Barkley put up a 200-yard, two-TD rushing day on the Los Angeles Rams for the second time this season, showing conclusively that the MVP should not be solely the quarterback’s area of ​​responsibility.

“He’s the best in the world,” Philly wideout AJ Brown said of Barkley earlier this season.

And Daniels? Impressively, he is the first Washington quarterback to ever develop multiple road wins in the same postseason. That pales in comparison to his enormous hand in reviving a franchise that has been dormant at best for the previous three decades. How could he not get further consideration as the most valuable player in the league this season? Especially if he becomes the first rookie ever to lead a team to the Super Bowl?

Guess it depends on what you really value when you define “most valuable.”

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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.