Bills' Allen wins MVP as league's best awarded at NFL Honors - ESPN

In the biggest surprise of Thursday night's NFL Honors ceremony in New Orleans, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen overcame the prevailing trend to beat Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson for The Associated Press' NFL Most Valuable Player award.

Allen is the first player in 21 seasons to capture MVP without being named first-team All-Pro. Since MVP was first handed out in 1957, the only other players to win the award despite not being a first-team All-Pro were Broncos quarterback John Elway (1987, when Joe Montana was first-team All-Pro) and Titans quarterback Steve McNair (2003, Peyton Manning).

In what was one of the most hotly contested MVP races in recent memory, Allen received 27 of the 50 first-place votes, four more than Jackson, who was named first-team All-Pro quarterback last month. It's the same voters for MVP and All-Pro, which is why many thought Jackson was the favorite to win what would have been his third MVP award.

The voting for the 2024 NFL MVP selected by The Associated Press in balloting by a nationwide panel of media. Voting is on a 10-5-3-2-1 basis:

How did it happen? Jackson had 30 of the 50 first-team All-Pro votes, while Allen got 18. Allen then won the first-place votes for MVP 27-23. But nine voters picked Jackson first for Offensive Player of the Year and Allen first for MVP, leading to the flip.

Allen became the third Bills player to win MVP (O.J. Simpson in 1973, Thurman Thomas in 1991). It was the closest MVP race since 2016, when winner Matt Ryan got 25 first-place votes and Tom Brady finished second with 10.

«I know this is an individual award and it says Most Valuable Player on it,» Allen said while holding the trophy, «but I think it's derived from team success, and I love my