Las Vegas, Nev. (WGR 550) - Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen managed to earn the only other first-place vote for NFL MVP in 2023, holding Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson back from being the unanimous selection as the league's Most Valuable Player this season.
Jackson was just one vote away from winning the NFL MVP honor unanimously for the second time in his career. He ended up earning 49 of the 50 first-place votes needed to earn the distinction.
The 27-year-old last won NFL MVP honors in 2019 during his sophomore season with the Ravens.
The only other player to win NFL MVP unanimously in a season was Tom Brady in the 2010 season with the New England Patriots.
Despite earning a first-place vote for MVP in 2023, Allen ended up finishing fifth overall in voting for the league honor.
The Bills quarterback finished his 2023 season with the most total yards of offense in the league with 4,678 yards. He also led the entire NFL this year with 44 total touchdowns.
The 27-year-old's 4,306 passing yards was good enough for fourth place in the league this season, while his 29 passing touchdowns put him in a tie for fifth place.
Allen's 15 rushing touchdowns was good enough to tie Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts for the most in the NFL by a quarterback, and second in the league overall, only behind Miami Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert's 18 rushing scores.
As for Jackson, he finished his MVP season completing 67.2% of his passes for 3,678 yards and 24 touchdowns to seven interceptions. On the ground, Jackson accounted for 821 yards on 148 rushes and five touchdowns, helping lead the Ravens to the No. 1 seed in the AFC this year.
Meanwhile, the other Bills player up for an award at the NFL Honors for the 2023 season was safety Damar Hamlin. He was among the five finalists for NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
Despite earning more first-place votes than any other player by an eight-vote margin, the voting system did not favor Hamlin, as the honor went to Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco.
Hamlin returned to play in five regular season games this season after nearly losing his life late last year in a Week 17 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals. In those five games, he played mainly on special teams, but still managed to register two tackles in action on defense.
The third-year safety went into cardiac arrest in the first quarter of that game on Jan. 2, 2023 after an episode of commotio cordis while making a routine tackle. The Bills' training and medical staff immediately performed CPR on the field and needed the help of an AED in order to save his life.
Hamlin was able to make a full recovery, and was back to full football activities just a few months after the incident.
As for Flacco, the 39-year-old veteran was called back to service towards the end of the season when the Browns lost Deshaun Watson for the season with a shoulder injury. He was signed as a free agent, and managed to play five games to close out the 2023 season in Cleveland.
In his five games played, Flacco completed 60.3% of his passes for 1,616 yards, and 13 touchdowns to eight interceptions, while going 4-1 under center. His played helped keep the Browns in playoff contention down the stretch, earning Cleveland the No. 5 seed in the AFC Playoffs as the top Wild Card team.
Here is a list of the remaining award winners from NFL Honors on Thursday night:
- Offensive Player of the Year: Christian McCaffrey - Running back - San Francisco 49ers
- Defensive Player of the Year: Myles Garrett - Defensive end - Cleveland Browns
- Offensive Rookie of the Year: C.J. Stroud - Quarterback - Houston Texans
- Defensive Rookie of the Year: Will Anderson Jr. - Defensive end - Houston Texans
- Coach of the Year: Kevin Stefanski - Cleveland Browns
- Assistant Coach of the Year: Jim Schwartz - Defensive coordinator - Cleveland Browns
- Walter Payton Man of the Year: Cameron Heyward - Defensive end - Pittsburgh Steelers
- Fan of the Year: Tom Grossi - Green Bay Packers
- Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award: Bobby Wagner - Linebacker - Seattle Seahawks
