New Orleans, La. (WBEN) - For the first time since the 1991 season, the National Football League's Most Valuable Player hails from the Buffalo Bills.
During Thursday's NFL Honors ceremony in New Orleans, Bills quarterback Josh Allen was recognized as the league's MVP for the 2024 season.
Allen earns his first honor as NFL MVP after being named a finalist for the fourth time in his career in 2024. He finished second in MVP voting in 2020, third in voting in 2022, and fifth in voting in 2023.
This time around, Allen earned 27 first-place votes for NFL MVP, beating out Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson's 23 first-place votes. Jackson was gunning for his second-straight NFL MVP honor, and third-career MVP honor.
"I know this is an individual award, and it says Most Valuable Player on it, but I think it's derived from team success, and I love my team," said Allen after receiving his trophy for NFL MVP. "'D Dawk' [Dion Dawkins], thank you for presenting, I really appreciate it. We've got such a great locker room in Buffalo, and it takes everybody from the equipment staff to the training room, to the strength staff, to 'Slick Rick' in the mail room to the cafeteria upstairs. It truly takes everybody to have team success, and I'm so fortunate to be a part of a great organization.
"Be good. Do good. God bless, and go Bills."
Allen, of course, hoped to leave New Orleans with different hardware. Still, he's happy to be recognized for his accomplishments.
“I wish we weren’t hoisting this trophy. I wish we were hoisting the Lombardi — and we’re going to keep working until we do," Allen said Thursday, referring to winning a Super Bowl.
The 28-year-old completed 63.6% of his pass attempts in the regular season for 3,731 yards and 28 touchdowns to just six interceptions. Allen also added 531 yards rushing on 102 carries and 12 touchdowns. His 41 total touchdowns this season put him fourth in the NFL among quarterbacks.
Last month, Allen was named a member of the AP's Second-Team All-Pro squad, finishing second in first-place votes to Jackson. It was the second time in his NFL career Allen was named an AP Second-Team All-Pro, with his other nod coming in 2020.
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While most of Allen's 2024 stats were not among the top quarterbacks in the NFL, he did help the Bills finish the season with a 13-4 record, resulting in a fifth-straight AFC East title. This all came in a year in which many had thought the Bills will "retooling", and likely not to contend for another division title.
Among the notable highlights from Allen's 2024 regular season campaign included wins over the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions, a pair of teams that ended the regular season with 15 wins each. It made Buffalo the first team in NFL history to accomplish such a feat over the course of a season.
Allen was also named AFC Offensive Player of the Week four different times this season, and became the first player in NFL history to record, at least, 25 passing touchdowns, 10 rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown in a season.
He also became the fourth quarterback in league history to record, at least, 13 wins, 40 offensive touchdowns and fewer than 10 interceptions in a single season.
While the playoffs do not factor into NFL MVP voting, Allen was, once again, efficient in the postseason, leading the Bills back to the AFC Championship Game for the first time since 2020. He completed 70.7% of his pass attempts in three games, accumulating 636 yards and four touchdowns. On the ground, Allen added 105 yards on 29 carries and two more scores.
It is the first time a Bills quarterback has been named the NFL's MVP. Allen is also just the third player from Buffalo to win NFL MVP since the merger, joining running backs Thurman Thomas (1991) and O.J. Simpson (1973).
Allen also earned another honor on Thursday at NFL Honors, being named the 2024 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.
The award is presented each year to an NFL player who best demonstrates the qualities of on-field sportsmanship, including fair play, respect for the game and opponents and integrity in competition. Allen is the first Bills player to win the honor.
Allen's earns the sportsmanship honor for the 2024 season, despite coming into the year voted as the league's top trash talker, according to an ESPN player survey in the preseason.
Created in 2014, the sportsmanship award honors the late founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Art Rooney Sr.
Additionally, Allen receives $25,000 for the charity of his choice.