“That’s what Aaron Rodgers was doing when he won MVP” - Hall of Fame TE picks sides in Josh Allen vs Lamar Jackson race
We're nearly done with Week 16's round of action and Lamar Jackson appears to have strengthened his case to be named the league's most valuable player. For the past few weeks, Josh Allen was comfortable at the top of that ladder with several NFL analysts calling the race for the MVP in the Buffalo Bills QB's favor. However, with two weeks of action to go, Jackson appears to have taken the comments from those analysts personally as he put on yet another show against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While the NFL world has been going back and forth between Jackson and Allen (and even Jared Goff and Saquon Barkley), Denver Broncos legend Shannon Sharpe made his opinion clear on this year's MVP race. On the "Nigthcap Show" on Sunday, the legendary tight end said:
“MVP is not over. It is not over," Sharpe said.
“I’m basing my vote on play that year. Y’all got to look at Lamar’s stats. The man has 37 TDs, 4 picks. Then you throw in his rushing totals, he’s at 40 TDs with six or seven turnovers. You look at his passing numbers, that’s what Aaron Rodgers was doing when he was winning MVP. Right now, if I had a vote, I’m probably voting for Lamar.”
Sharpe clearly did his homework. Jackson has thrown for 3,787 yards and 37 TDs after Week 16 and rushed for 765 yards and three more scores. When Aaron Rodgers won his last MVP with the Green Bay Packers in 2021, he threw for 4,115 yards and 37 touchdowns with just four interceptions for a 111.9 passer rating, all while leading the Packers to a 13-4 record and the No. 1 seed for the NFC playoffs.
Who is favored to win NFL MVP after Week 16?
On FanDuel, Josh Allen is still the betting favorite to take home the MVP award for the season. At +380, Lamar Jackson is a close second, followed by Saquon Barkley (+1500), Jared Goff (+2500), Patrick Mahomes (+7500) and Sam Darnold (+10000).
Allen's numbers are in a similar range to Jackson's. He has thrown for 3,459 yards and 26 TDs while rushing for 514 yards and 11 TDs. Allen was also playing with a hand injury for most of the year, though that is unlikely to figure into the MVP conversation.