Josh Allen received the 2024 MVP award after he carried the Buffalo Bills’ offense last season. He edged out Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson with 383 points and 27 first-place votes as compared to Jackson’s 362 points and 23 first-place votes. With that, Allen became the third player to win the MVP award but not make it to the first-team All-Pro. But what’s bigger than an award? It’s a teammate’s trust.
And he might still have to earn it as his teammate, rookie DT Deone Walker. Walker, who signed a $5.2 million contract, spoke his mind regarding Allen. Here’s the thing: Several NFL players were asked, “Who do you want to see on the Madden 26 cover?” And so, names like Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, and Josh Allen popped up. Nothing odd about that, correct?
Well, that was until it was Walker’s turn to answer the question. “Lamar,” the DT responded, and while there wasn’t much wrong with his answer, it is what he said after it that left Bills’ fans speechless. “He got robbed.” Many fans quickly took to X to share how shocked they were upon hearing his answer. But was it really that surprising? After all, when Allen was named the MVP, narratives about how Jackson was robbed were all over the internet.
The rookies made their picks. Who do you want to see on the Madden 26 cover? @EAMaddenNFL pic.twitter.com/3IcO7WwG6E
— NFL (@NFL) May 30, 2025
However, those narratives cropped up because Lamar Jackson had better stats than Allen. He even broke Michael Vick’s record to register his name in the NFL record books for most rushing yards by a QB (6,173).
Josh Allen
Lamar Jackson
Passing yards
3,731
4,172
TDs
28
41
Completion rate
66.7 percent
63.6 percent
So when Josh Allen became the MVP, many people in the league, more so from Baltimore, echoed the sentiment about their signal caller being robbed. But the Bills would have never imagined they’d hear a similar belief in their own camp. One popular notion was that the Ravens’ star had been the MVP twice previously, and therefore, the league swung it the way of a new face.
While Jackson did win the 2024 Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) MVP honor, the ‘official’ version, i.e., the Associated Press (AP) MVP award, went to Allen. However, the demands are now increasing as Bills HC Sean McDermott needs the QB to give his best in the upcoming season.
Can Josh Allen handle the responsibility of saving the HC’s job?
During the May 30 episode of The Dan Patrick Show, Ross Tucker dropped a bomb: “If neither [Bills or Ravens] makes it to the AFC Championship this year, you wonder if [Bills owner] Terry Pegula or [Ravens owner] Steve Bisciotti says, ‘We’ve got one of the top QBs in the league… maybe we need to change something.’” Imagine hearing that as Allen, adding to the heartburn from repeated failure.
Josh Allen’s numbers don’t lie: He has taken his team to six playoff appearances and five consecutive division titles. But it doesn’t end here. He also achieved seven postseason victories and two conference championship game appearances. He has carried Buffalo on his back. Then there’s HC Sean McDermott, the architect behind those titles.
Since 2017, he has taken them to five division crowns in a row. And two AFC Championship trips later, the window is still open. But there’s no Lombardi yet. Not even a Super Bowl appearance. The owners want answers. And with a fresh contract handed out to their anchor on the gridiron, they’ll look to the sidelines for accountability.
They’ve built this franchise together. Yet the question that comes up in every meeting is: Is that peak high enough? If it doesn’t end in a conference title, will the Bills keep McDermott in charge? The only way to answer it is to run it back, harder, faster, and sharper, because in the NFL, reputation only runs as deep as the next playoff win. What do you think?
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