MVP Voter Reveals Why He Gave Bills QB Josh Allen Only Other First-Place Vote
An MVP finalist for the third time in his career this season, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen skipped out on the NFL Honors in Las Vegas on Thursday night in favor of a Barstool Sports trivia night.
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson instead took home his second-career MVP in a landslide, but one voter prevented it from being a historical win. Despite finishing last among the five finalists, Allen received the one first-place vote that held back Jackson (49 votes) from becoming the first-ever two-time unanimous MVP in NFL history.
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The voter, Aaron Schatz of FTNFantasy, explained his reasoning in a written response that he admitted he already had prepared.
"There's no question, Lamar Jackson's season was impressive," Schatz wrote. "I trust the film study people who believe he has never been better as a passer, even if his numbers were better in 2019. ... Lamar Jackson passes the eye test.
"But Josh Allen and Dak Prescott pass the eye test as well. These are all talented quarterbacks. I'm a stat guy. I'm going to look at stats. There's no question that by nearly every advanced metric you could look at, Josh Allen and Dak Prescott had better seasons than Lamar Jackson."
Allen was also an MVP finalist during the 2020 and 2022 seasons. During the 2023 regular season, he led the NFL in total yards (4,830) and total touchdowns (44). Despite winning the award, Jackson ranked sixth (4,499) and ninth (29) in those same categories.
"I looked at all this data," Schatz wrote. "I tried to make the case for Lamar Jackson. I tried very hard to convince myself that I felt he was the guy. And I just could not do it," Schatz wrote. "He had a great season. He's a very good quarterback. I simply do not believe he was the best quarterback in the NFL this year, even though he led the best team."
Allen finished the regular season 385 of 579 passing for 4,306 yards and 29 touchdowns but had 18 interceptions.
Based on how the votes are counted, Prescott finished in a distant second behind Jackson. Here's a look at the complete voting numbers:
Jackson beat out a field that included Allen, Prescott, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and Niners running back Christian McCaffrey.
