Did Josh Allen deserve MVP? | OverDrive Hour 1 | 2/07/25

Bryan Hayes, Jeff O’Neill and Al’s Brother discuss the Maple Leafs win over the Kraken, the Bobby McMann story, Anthony Stolarz’s return, how surprising it was that Buffalo Bills Quarterback Josh Allen won the MVP over Lamar Jackson, Tyreek Hill’s future in Miami and more. They are joined by ESPN and TSN Football analyst Jesse Palmer to discuss who would he go with in the Super Bowl, the better roster or the aura of Patrick Mahomes, how can the Eagles dethrone the champs, is Jalen Hurts being slept on for the impact he can make, Tom Brady making his Super Bowl debut in the booth and more.

[@Woody13ify]

And Odog was frozen when they said freezen 😜🤪🤣

[@Andrew.Griffin]

RE: NFL MVP. It's not who is the best player, it's who is the most valuable to their team.

[@wingedbuffalo4670]

In terms of Josh Allen winning MVP, there were three great contenders, but only one "best" choice for the specific requirements of that particular award (which is NOT defined/required to be the QB possessing the "best scoring & offensive production statistics" [the latter is the definition for "1st Team All-Pro"] !!!!!!!!). The voters got it right in selecting Josh Allen no matter what the haters say. SOMETIMES, perhaps even reasonably frequently, it does indeed work out that the same exact player happens to best fulfill the different criteria simultaneously for the TWO DISTINCT AWARDS, and that player then captures both awards ... BUT NOT "ALWAYS," and also NOT "NECESSARILY" so. A few decades ago two superb Hall of Fame QBs -- Joe Montana and John Elway -- achieved the same exact split during the same NFL season, with one being selected 1st Team All-Pro QB (best QB stats), and the other being selected MVP (excellent stats too, but also the player who overall brought the most value to his team [and the team has to be a decent team too]).
The thing that angers me is that the Josh Allen HATERS out there are so vitriolic and so miserable that they are doing everything within their power to de-legitimize his MVP award and maliciously spoil the joy he ought to be experiencing in winning the award. They bend over backwards to try to find excuses NOT to award him the MVP designation based SOLELY on Lamar supposedly having "better" stats. Of course, in so doing, they conveniently and intentionally commit the following erors:
1) HYPOCRISY and DOUBLE STANDARDS: they IGNORE the fact that, last year, Josh Allen's TDs scored BLEW AWAY Lamar's, yet Lamar was still gifted the MVP because the Ravens earned the #1 Seed in the AFC Playoffs for 2023. Many viewed the MVP selection gifted to Lamar as an unjust snub to Josh Allen because of Josh's superior stats. Following the 2023 season, Lamar's supporters claimed "stats don't matter that much" to support his winning the award; but this year following the 2024 season when Lamar's TD stats happen to be higher (with Josh Allen's very close to Lamar's), then suddenly "stats matter" to Lamar's supporters and Josh's haters because that's a small advantage Lamar can exercise over Josh.
2) STATISTICAL DISINGENUOUSNESS and "CHERRY-PICKING:" Lamar has slightly more TDs than Josh Allen, and more passing yards. HOWEVER, Josh Allen threw fewer interceptions than Lamar, and finished with a slightly higher QBR (QB Rating) than did Lamar. So who's to say "fewer interceptions" and a "higher QBR" -- especially when the TDs scored are so close between the two QBs -- aren't just as (or more) important to the voters as the TDs and passing yards????? These haters carry on -- FALSELY -- as if Josh Allen had some sort of a "crappy" season in comparison to Lamar. It just isn't true.
3) UNEQUAL COMPARISON (NOT keeping "Apples to Apples"): The FACT of the matter is that whatever SLIGHT "statistical performance advatages" Lamar might hold over Josh Allen in 2024 (e.g., a couple more TDs scored and more passing yards), the reality is that they are ROOTED IN UNEQUAL PLAYING TIME. Josh Allen played substantially fewer Quarters/minutes of football in 2024 than did Lamar Jackson. In Week 18 alone, Josh Allen played ONLY ONE PLAY at the start of the Bills' first series -- solely to keep alive his consecutive games played streak -- and then he promptly exited the game having broken no sweat and with ZERO opportunity to score more TDs or pass for more yards to overtake Lamar's small "advantage" in stat numbers. Several wrior to the Week 18 game, the Bills had already won their AFC East Division and were also locked into the #2 seed (with NO playoff BYE) whether they won or lost the game, so Coach Sean McDermott wisely opted to rest and not play the starters in order to try to give them a quasi week-off/"bye" prior to the playoffs starting so they could recover from some season-long wear & tear. In stark contrast, Lamar played the FULL game in Week 18 and padded his stats because the Ravens needed to win that game in order to win their AFC North Division crown and thereby secure a home playoff game in the 1st Round of the playoffs. In addition to that entire game example, there were NUMEROUS games throughout the season where the Bills were blowing out opponents and Coach McDermott pulled Josh Allen from the game very early -- and simply had back-up QB Mitch Trubisky hand the ball off on running plays to milk the playing clock. Bottom line: if Josh Allen had played nearly as much time as did Lamar Jackson, there is a HUGE likelihood that Josh Allen's "stat line" for TDs scored and passing yards would have surpassed Lamar's as well ... hands-down.
4) IGNORING the QUALITY of the WINS. Not only did Josh Allen lead the Bills to a BETTER RECORD and a HIGHER AFC Playoff Seed than Lamar led the Ravens to this year, but he (Josh Allen) also did so in superior fashion over better opponents. Until the Week 18 "throw away games" (wherein both the Bills and KC Chiefs didn't play their starters to give them added rest), Buffalo was the ONLY team to beat KC. Lamar had his chance, but the Ravens lost to the Chiefs. Indeed, in late November the Bills spoiled the Chiefs' bid for a perfect season. Josh Allen also led the Bills to a road victory AT Detroit -- and in the process led the Bills to the distinction of being the ONLY team in the NFL to defeat the #1 playoff seed for BOTH the AFC and NFC. Moreover, until the Week 18 "throwaway game" wherein Josh Allen basically DIDN'T PLAY, the Allen-led Bills only lost 3 games all season, AND EVERY LOSS WAS ON THE ROAD, TO A DIVISION CHAMPION PLAYOFF TEAM at that. Lamar and the Ravens can't say the same, as they sustained a few UGLY losses to CRAPPY NON-PLAYOFF teams in the heart of the season.
5) IGNORING CONTEXT: In at least TWO respects, Josh Allen FAR EXCEEDED/OUTPERFORMED EXPECTATIONS:
a) The Bills were supposed to "take a step back" this season because of all the starting talent the Bills lost in the off-season. Indeed, the Bills were supposed to finish NO HIGHER than 3rd place in their division (some had Miami winning the AFC East with the NY Jets coming in 2nd, others hed those top two place finishes reversed ... but BOTH the Dolphins and Jets were suppposed to be loaded and make the playoffs, while the Bills were NOT). Yet by the 1st weekend in December, the Josh Allen-led Bills had become the FIRST team in the entire NFL to have clinched their division in the 2024 season !!! By contrast, as last season's losing team in the AFC Championship Game with little talent lost, the Ravens were supposd to contend for their division crown ... yet they didn't win it until the final week of the season
b) Josh Allen "did more with less" -- BY FAR. Only 2 Bills made the Pro Bowl (Josh Allen and LT Dion Dawkins); Lamar and 8 other Ravens were selected to the Pro Bowl. BY FAR, Lamar and the Ravens had/have distinctly "better" talent on their team than does Josh Allen and the Bills. Not only does Lamar have a superior "supporting cast" on offense to have great success and pad his statistics, but he also has a superior defense than does Josh Allen. CLEARLY, Josh Allen was "MOST VALUABLE" because he ELEVATED the team's PERFORMANCE and "GOT THE MOST OUT OF" a lesser talented team.
Thus all the Josh Allen haters out there -- IF they are intellectually honest and fair-minded individuals -- ought to drop immediately their nonsensical and INVALID objections to him winning the MVP Award for the 2024 NFL season. Lamar had a great season, and won 1st Team All-Pro ... but Josh Allen CLEARLY and APPROPRIATELY is the "RIGHT" CHOICE for NFL MVP.

[@quincee3376]

Fly Eagles Fly!!!

[@Steveoh1983]

Fuck I love o-dogg!!! “U know I hated it I don’t wanna talk about it”

[@huey166]

Whoever wanted. Paula Abdul.

[@mohammadsamyee3340]

Go cheifs

[@Woody13ify]

Flag on the play think u will find its Chiefs lol Spelling police 👮‍♀️ u have been warned 😂 Go Phins Go (still the only perfect team in NFL history 😜) & DM the true 🐐