Former Louisville football quarterback Lamar Jackson finished second in the NFL MVP race Thursday to Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
It was the closest race since Matt Ryan defeated Tom Brady in 2016. Allen received 27 first-place votes to Jackson’s 23 and finished with 383 points. Jackson tallied 362 points.
Allen won his first MVP after a regular season in which he recorded 3,731 passing yards with 28 TDs and 531 rushing yards with 12 touchdowns.
This was the second straight year he had over 25 passing touchdowns and double-digit rushing touchdowns. The Bills (13-4) won the AFC East for the fifth year in a row.
Buffalo’s season ended in a 32-29 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game.
Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley finished third (120 points).
Jackson led the Baltimore Ravens (12-5) to their second straight AFC North title. The star passed for a career-high 4,172 yards and 41 touchdowns. He is the first quarterback with over 4,000 passing yards, 40 touchdowns and four interceptions or fewer.
He rushed for 915 yards and grabbed the record for career rushing yards for quarterbacks, with 6,173, after passing Michael Vick (6,109 yards) for the top spot in Week 17.
Barkley finished the season with 2,005 rushing yards, 5.8 yards per carry, and 13 rushing touchdowns. He was 101 yards away from breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105.
Last five NFL MVPs
2024: Josh Allen
2023: Lamar Jackson
2022: Patrick Mahomes
2021: Aaron Rodgers
2020: Aaron Rodgers