Josh Allen edges out Lamar Jackson for 1st MVP award at entertaining NFL Honors

Josh Allen has surprised many throughout his career, but he might have picked up one of his most unexpected wins on Thursday night.

The Buffalo Bills quarterback was named MVP for the 2024 regular season at the NFL Honors show, beating out two-time winner Lamar Jackson. This is the first time Allen has won the award. 

Allen was the favorite to win the award for a good portion of the year, holding the best odds late into the season. But Jackson overtook him as the leader after a strong final stretch of the season. The Baltimore Ravens quarterback was named first-team All-Pro over Allen.

The vote wound up being the closest since 2016, when Matt Ryan topped Tom Brady. 

Allen received 27 first-place votes to Jackson’s 23 and finished with 383 points. He also got 22 second-place votes and one third. Jackson received 26 second-place votes and one fourth for a total of 362 points.

Saquon Barkley, Joe Burrow and Jared Goff were the other finalists. Barkley was third (120 points), followed by Burrow (82) and Goff (47).

It might be fitting that Allen picked up a close victory over Jackson in the MVP vote. Allen’s Bills squad took down Jackson’s Ravens by just two points in the playoffs, which marked the first time the winner and the runner-up for MVP met in the divisional round.

That win was just one of the many major victories Allen had in 2024. While Allen’s stats might not have led the league, he was the catalyst for Buffalo’s top-10 offense. The Bills went 13-3 in the games in which he played the majority of snaps, despite expectations the team would take a step back after trading Stefon Diggs and not replacing him with a true No. 1 receiver.

Allen consistently said that the Bills offense had an “everyone eats” approach, but he did a good job feeding them. He threw for 3,731 yards, 28 touchdowns and six interceptions with a 101.4 passer rating to go with his 531 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns.

The most memorable score Allen had in the season came in Week 11 against the Kansas City Chiefs. He rushed for a 26-yard touchdown to give the Bills a two-score lead in the final minutes of their victory.

Ahead of Super Bowl LIX, that was the only game that the Chiefs have lost with Patrick Mahomes starting this season.

Allen wasn’t able to replicate that magic in the AFC Championship Game, falling to the Chiefs for the fourth time in the postseason. But with his MVP, Allen became just one of four active quarterbacks to win the award.

MVP was the headliner, but there were other prestigious awards handed out Thursday night in what was an entertaining ceremony, with many of the NFL’s biggest names coming out to celebrate.

Barkley was named the Offensive Player of the Year after an historic season, his first in Philadelphia. The star running back led the NFL with 2,005 rushing yards and broke the Eagles‘ single-season rushing yards record. He had a chance to break Eric Dickerson’s NFL single-season record, but came up 101 yards short after Philadelphia opted to rest him in Week 17. Barkley accepted his award via video as he prepares for Super Bowl LIX. 

The Defensive Player of the Year went to Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II. The Alabama alum has been with the Broncos since he was drafted in the first round in 2021, delivering Pro Bowl-worthy seasons almost every year. In September 2024, Surtain signed a four-year, $96 million extension which made him the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history. The 24-year-old finished the season with 45 tackles and four interceptions.

Burrow was named Comeback Player of the Year after returning from a wrist injury suffered in 2023 to lead the NFL with a career-best 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdowns. This is the second Comeback Player of the Year award for the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback, who won it in 2021 after returning to the field following knee surgery in December 2020. 

“I wouldn’t say this is necessarily an award you want to be nominated for two times,” he said during his acceptance speech Thursday night as the crowd laughed.

The Offensive Rookie of the Year award went to Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels after a breakout year in which he led his team to its most wins in a season and first NFC Championship Game appearance since 1991. The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner put up eye-catching numbers for Washington, finishing the season with 3,568 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, 891 rushing yards and six rushing TDs. Daniels rushed for the most yards by a rookie quarterback in NFL history and was named to his first Pro Bowl and to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. He received 49 out of 50 first-place votes for the award.

The Defensive Rookie of the Year award was given to linebacker Jared Verse. The rookie out of Florida State was selected in the first round by the Los Angeles Rams and immediately made an impact in his debut season. Verse, who was named a Pro Bowler, notched 66 tackles, delivered 4.5 sacks and forced and recovered two fumbles. The 24-year-old scored his first NFL touchdown on a 57-yard fumble recovery in the Rams’ wild-card win over the Minnesota Vikings. 

Kevin O’Connell was named Coach of the Year after guiding the Vikings to a surprising 14-3 record and a spot in the playoffs. O’Connell, a former quarterback, helped revitalize Sam Darnold’s career as the former first-rounder put up personal-bests in every major passing category, including 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns. He accepted the award from Bill Belichick, who picked O’Connell in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. 

And the other notable awards:

• Salute to Service Award: 49ers tight end George Kittle
• Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year: Jaguars defensive end Arik Armstead
• Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025: Eric Allen, Jared Allen, Antonio Gates, Sterling Sharpe
• Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award: Bills quarterback Josh Allen
• AP Assistant Coach of the Year: Former Lions OC Ben Johnson
• Next Gen Stats Moment of the Year: Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels’ game-winning Hail Mary pass vs. Bears
• FedEx Air & Ground Players of the Year: Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase
• Deacon Jones Sack Leader Award: Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson

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