Final NFL MVP Prediction Ahead of the NFL Honors

With Thursday's NFL Honors steadily approaching, I thought now would be the best time to give my final prediction for the league MVP. This year has been historic for a multitude of reasons. We’ve seen a quarterback battle that lasted the entire length of the season come to a surreal climax in the AFC Divisional game, as well as a running back in new threads coming one game away from breaking the all-time rushing record. The 2024 NFL season has been spectacular, and without further ado, my official non-official MVP for 2024 is Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Where do we even start with Jackson? He was sensational this season yet again, coming off the heels of another MVP campaign last year, which was his second. It’s hard to believe that a two-time MVP could actually continue to get better, but Jackson achieved just that this year. He set career highs in passing yards (4,172) and passing touchdowns (41), as well as setting a career low in interceptions with just four. Numbers like these would place Jackson sixth, second, and second again, respectively, in each category. All of this, and not to mention, he led the league in passer rating with a staggering 119.6, which was almost 10 points higher than the next closest qualified quarterback, Jared Goff, at 111.8.

Many will look to Buffalo’s Josh Allen as the main contender against Jackson’s third MVP, and to some degree, I can see the argument. Allen led an undermanned offense to a 13-4 record, all while playing some of the highest-quality football he’s played in his career. That said, despite Allen having some of the more high-profile wins, such as against the Chiefs and Lions, who were both number-one seeds in their respective conferences, it’s not like the Ravens didn’t beat quality teams as well. Baltimore defeated six different playoff teams, including the Commanders, Buccaneers, Broncos, Chargers, Texans, and Steelers. On top of this, the individual numbers are considerably in Lamar’s favor. For comparison, Lamar led Allen in each of the following categories: completion percentage, passing yards, passing touchdowns, yards per pass attempt, passer rating, rushing yards, and finally, rushing yards per attempt. Allen did edge out Jackson considerably in rushing touchdowns with a 12-4 ratio, which is notable, but even with that taken into account, each quarterback's total touchdowns come to 45-40 in favor of Jackson.

Long story short, I believe that the only thing keeping Lamar from a third MVP award would be voter fatigue. Professional sports is not exempt from it, and it’s become an ever-growing topic during the award ceremonies for each league. If Lamar Jackson were to not win this year despite posting career numbers that exceed prior performances that were good enough for two MVPs, what more could he possibly need to do? In the end, I think it’s clear-cut who should be the victor, but I also believe that Allen is more than deserving of being in the discussion. Both of these two quarterbacks are tremendous, and it’s truly a blessing to get to watch them battle it out in the AFC year after year. The NFL Honors begins at 9 PM EST on Thursday, February 6th.