Colin Cowherd Perfectly Shuts Down The Josh Allen MVP Haters
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Josh Allen took home the MVP award in the closest battle since 2003, when Peyton Manning and Steve McNair ended up in a dead even tie and were named Co-MVPs.
Lamar fans were not thrilled to see that Allen took home the league’s biggest hardware.
Lot of dumb arguments this week but I think 2x MVP Lamar Jackson being the most disrespected player in NFL history because he didn’t win last night takes it
— Kyle Pagan (@CBKylePagan) February 7, 2025
On today’s episode of The Herd, Colin Cowherd perfectly shut down the narrative that Allen should not have won MVP.
“Josh Allen won, and I have absolutely no problem with it; because I don’t think 20 years from now, we’ll be saying, ‘Man, do you remember the year they gifted Josh Allen the MVP?’…When Derrick Henry arrived in Baltimore, defenses playing the Ravens had to make choices and concessions, and many times it felt like the key to that team was not Lamar Jackson, it was Derrick Henry. And defensive coordinators had to make choices with the number two rushing running back in the NFL.
In most years, Derrick Henry would have led the NFL in rushing, if not for Saquon Barkley’s all time year. As much as Josh Allen got support from James Cook, he was the 16th leading rusher in the league. Receiving corps. They lost Stefon Diggs, yet he won 10 of his last 12. One pick after December 1. And again, when you play the Bills, there is one and one mission only, and that is to stop Josh Allen. When you played the Ravens this year, some teams made the choice to concentrate on Derrick Henry. That, of course, opened things up a bit for Lamar Jackson.
The second thing is, not all MVPs look the same, and we all know that awards are subjective. I mean, Aaron Rodgers has four of these puppies. Tom Brady’s got three. There was a year that Joel Embiid of Philadelphia was gifted an MVP over Jokic because people felt Jokic had won two, he shouldn’t win three straight before the Nuggets even have a title; And I think we get to a point. Seven years of Josh Allen, since he entered the league, this has mostly been the powerhouse offense, and he has been so great for so long. It was time.
I know you don’t want awards to be like that, and Lamar has got better stats. They all look different. They come in different shapes and sizes. Sometimes it’s the story plus the stats, but if you look at some numbers, he’s the first player ever (with) five straight seasons of 40 plus touchdowns.
He’s got the most total touchdowns, he’s got the most total yards (of) any NFL player, including Patrick Mahomes first seven years, it was just time. Time for Josh Allen to win the MVP; nobody is gonna feel 20-30 years from now this was gifted.”
His speech perfectly encapsulates why Josh Allen should’ve taken home the MVP. A common practice in stating one’s case is that they will talk smack about one player to talk up the other, which is malpractice at best. Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson were both incredible players who had incredible years, but the award attributes value to one’s own team. The moment Derrick Henry entered the Baltimore offense, it led to a lot of sleepless nights for defensive coordinators. The Ravens offense can run through either Derrick Henry or Lamar Jackson, but the Bills’ offense cannot function the way they do without Josh Allen.
The close vote puts into perspective the contentious debate that took place when trying to determine whether Allen or Lamar deserved the MVP, and both players have a legitimate case. It’s not just a statistical award, because both players were statistical powerhouses for different reasons, and they have been for quite some time. Cowherd perfectly described Allen’s consistent body of work over time, in addition to the fact that the Bills are nowhere near the powerhouse they are without Josh Allen. It’s an award that both parties deserved to win, but Allen being the clear best player on his own team for years on end, in addition to Lamar Jackson having a monster truck of a running back to help him every Sunday Sunday Sunday, is what likely gave Allen the edge.
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