NFL MVP stock watch: One of closest races in recent history
By Dustin Baker
3. Josh Allen, QB (Buffalo Bills)
Last Week’s Ranking: 3rd
Highest Ranking of Season: 2nd (-1)
2020 Stats: 4,320 Passing Yards, 34 Passing TDs, 9 INTs, 69.1% Comp, 106.4 Passer Rating, 8 Rushing TDs
One almost feels “bad” for Josh Allen in 2020. If men like Aaron Rodgers or Patrick Mahomes did not exist, Allen would be the runaway winner of the NFL’s 2020 MVP award. His statistics are marvelous. His team’s performance is magnificent. The excitement he has dragged back to Buffalo, New York, is palpable — even during a season where fans are disallowed from attendance.
Allen’s 2020 showing should be perceived as a warning shot to the rest of the NFL. Barring injury or strange setback, the Bills are poised to assume a Patriots-like stranglehold on the AFC East for the next half-decade. It is long overdue for Bills enthusiasts. Buffalo has not been a serious contender for Super Bowl participation in a quarter-century. But now, the Bills are back.
The University of Wyoming alumnus just looks like an MVP candidate. He is the focal point of the Bills. As for his performance, so go the Bills. Last season, Allen would have stinkers for games, and the team would seem wholly inept in surmounting his shortcomings. Now, Allen doesn’t have awful games. Call it maturation.
Allen will likely be at the top of these rankings in 2021 and beyond.