Who should be the NFL MVP? Making the case for Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and Saquon Barkley

With the NFL regular season coming to an end, so does one of the better MVP races we’ve witnessed in recent memory. Lamar Jackson passed Michael Vick for the most rushing yards by a quarterback all time while leading the No. 1 offense in the NFL, Saquon Barkley became the ninth player to cross 2,000 rushing yards in a single season while carrying the Philadelphia Eagles offense, and Joe Burrow has looked like the best quarterback in the NFL with a career campaign despite the Cincinnati Bengals‘ record. And then there’s the betting favorite, Josh Allen, who has taken his dual-threat abilities to even greater heights this season.

So, who should win MVP? We brought four CBS Sports writers together — Jordan Dajani, Cody Benjamin, Garrett Podell and Jeff Kerr — to discuss just that. Each writer made the case for their respective candidate ahead of Week 18 — the final chance for Allen, Burrow, Jackson and Barkley to convince voters they are the one deserving of the league’s highest individual honor.

Let’s get to the arguments!

By Jordan Dajani

The Buffalo Bills have secured the No. 2 seed in the AFC with a 13-3 record and clinched what we thought would be a very competitive AFC East for a franchise-record fifth consecutive time…ON DECEMBER 1. The Bills ran away with the division, and it’s because of the play of their franchise quarterback. 

Allen entered 2024 with the most total touchdowns (174) and turnovers (75) in the NFL over the past four seasons. Turning the ball over was a legitimate issue. This season, Allen has 41 total touchdowns compared to just eight turnovers. 

Through 17 games, Allen has 41 total touchdowns compared to 25 sacks/fumbles/interceptions. That’s a differential of +16. There are only four other quarterbacks since 2000 who have had a +16 advantage in those categories — and every single one of them won MVP: Peyton Manning in 2004, Tom Brady in 2007, Manning again in 2013 and then Aaron Rodgers in 2020. 

Furthermore, Allen is just the second player to ever have five seasons with 40 total touchdowns. He played some of his best football in the month of December, scoring 18 total touchdowns compared to just ONE turnover. He’s the first player in NFL history to record 18 total touchdowns and one turnover in a month!  

There are just two quarterbacks in NFL history who have thrown for 3,500 yards and rushed for 500 yards while committing fewer than 10 turnovers through 16 games, and both did it this year: Allen and Jackson. But you know why Allen gets my vote for MVP? The addition of Derrick Henry really helped Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens this year. Who did Buffalo add? Amari Cooper? Who ranks No. 74 in the NFL in receiving yards? Keon Coleman? Who is averaging 43.8 receiving yards per game and missed four contests due to injury?

I know I’m not alone in thinking that Buffalo was going to take a big step backwards in 2024. The Bills lost so much on both sides of the ball this offseason. Offensively, Allen lost his starting center in Mitch Morse and his top two wide receivers in Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis. How is Allen playing better, and taking care of the football more than he ever has?

Josh Allen is the reason the Bills didn’t regress despite all of their losses on paper, Josh Allen is the reason the Bills have won 13 of 16 games this season, and Josh Allen is the reason the Bills are legitimate Super Bowl contenders as we enter the playoffs. 

By Cody Benjamin

The MVP race is crowded this year, and the truth is that’s OK, because there’s a fair case to be made that Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Saquon Barkley and maybe even a few others are all worthwhile candidates. Each of those players has demonstrably elevated their respective teams in more ways than one. There’s one name, however, that deserves even more, if not the most, consideration: Joe Burrow.

If we’re going to play by the mostly silly contemporary rules that devalue anyone who doesn’t play quarterback for the NFL’s top individual honor, then it stands to reason the man who leads the entire league in passing yards (4,641) and passing touchdowns (42), with the NFL’s highest mark in the latter category in three years, deserves to be at the forefront of the discussion. Are Jackson and Allen superb passers this year? Absolutely. Burrow’s simply been better, with the most prolific aerial production in the sport.

But look at his team, you say! How dare an elite quarterback enter Week 18 without a playoff berth locked up nice and tidily? And to that, we say: Only three teams surrender more points than Cincinnati. Only five give up more yards. Burrow is constantly in a position where he must air it out with near-perfection, or else. Opposing teams know, perhaps more predictably than against any other team, that the Bengals’ path to victory is through the air. And even then, Burrow’s rip-roaring downfield precision hasn’t been halted.

It helps, of course, that he has Ja’Marr Chase at his disposal. But are we docking Allen for having the support of a borderline top-10 scoring defense in a mostly pitiful division, where the Bills’ three rivals own a combined record of 15-33? Are we docking Jackson for rushing in tandem with Derrick Henry? Take Burrow off the Bengals, and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who believes the Bengals would be even remotely in play for a wild-card spot after opening the season in a 1-4 hole. Throw in the fact Burrow’s kept the Bengals fighting after absorbing countless one-score daggers, and it’s an added testament to his fortitude.

The MVP award doesn’t mean “MVP of a confirmed Super Bowl contender,” even though, should Cincy sneak into the postseason, few clubs will be begging to line up against No. 9 in orange. It means “most valuable player.” The best performance of 2024. Try watching Burrow stand behind center and play quarterback — the most important position in all of football — and voting against that.

By Garrett Podell

Only two quarterbacks in NFL history have 3,500 or more passing yards, 500 or more rushing yards and under 10 turnovers through 16 games in a season. Both such occurrences have come in 2024 thanks to Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, per CBS Sports Research. 

Allen, whose Bills have clinched the AFC’s No. 2 seed and are the only team to have defeated the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, is having an awesome year. However, Jackson’s production has been all-time good while leading an 11-5 Ravens unit. Baltimore can run its record to 12-5 and clinch both the AFC North division and the conference’s No. 3 seed with a victory against the Cleveland Browns in Week 18. 

Jackson enters that game with 3,955 passing yards, a 39-4 passing touchdown to interception ratio, 852 rushing yards and a 121.6 passer rating. He could conclude 2024 with the following firsts, per CBS Sports Research:

• The first season ever with 4,000 or more passing yards and 800 or more rushing yards
• The first season ever with 40 or more passing touchdowns and 800 or more rushing yards
• The first season ever with 40 or more passing touchdowns and fewer than five interceptions

Jackson’s 121.6 passer rating is currently the second-highest ever in a single season in NFL history, trailing only then-Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ 122.5 passer rating in 2011 for the 15-1 reigning Super Bowl champions. That year marked Rodgers’ first career NFL MVP win. The two seasons behind Jackson for the third-highest single season passer rating — Rodgers’ 2020 season (121.5 passer rating) — and Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning’s 2004 season (121.1 passer rating) — also resulted in those players taking home the NFL MVP hardware. 

Lamar Jackson this season		NFL QB rank
Pass TD-INT	39-4	1st
Pass TD	39	T-2nd
Pass yards	3,955	6th
Pass yards/attempt	8.9	1st
Rush yards	852	2nd
Yards/carry	6.6	1st
Passer rating	121.6	1st

Let’s also take a look at the head-to-head matchup between Jackson’s Ravens and Allen’s Bills in Week 4 this season. Baltimore defeated Buffalo by a resounding score of 35-10 to hand the Bills their first loss of the season. Jackson put up 156 yards and two touchdowns on 13 of 18 passing while rushing for 54 yards and a touchdown on six carries. Allen didn’t produce any touchdowns, throwing for 180 yards on 16 of 29 passing while rushing for 21 yards on five carries. Both players lost a fumble. 

Allen’s and Jackson’s team success is comparable, but Jackson has the edge over Allen in both individual production and head-to-head categories. The choice is clear: Jackson should be the 2024 NFL MVP. 

By Jeff Kerr

Running backs don’t get much recognition in today’s pass-happy NFL, but Barkley is having a historic season at his position. Just the ninth running back to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, Barkley is just 101 yards away from surpassing Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105. Dickerson’s record has stood for 40 years and is one of the well-known records in all of sports. 

Not only could Barkley pass Dickerson, but he could also break the mark with fewer carries than Dickerson and a higher yards per carry average. Barkley is also 107 yards away from becoming just the third player with 2,400 scrimmage yards in a season — joining Marshall Faulk (1999) and Chris Johnson (2009). 

If breaking a 40-year-old record doesn’t warrant more MVP consideration, consider this: Barkley holds the NFL record in the play-by-play era (since 1991) with 1,245 and is averaging 6.7 yards per carry, four of which have gone for 50-plus-yard touchdowns (an NFL record). The Eagles are closing out games because of Barkley’s ability to move the chains and score big touchdowns in the second half.

Barkley likely won’t win MVP, but this is the “Most Valuable player” award, not the “Most Valuable Quarterback” award.