Raven Country

Bills Lineman Takes Shot at Ravens' Lamar Jackson

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson's MVP push has those around the league talking.

Jon Alfano

Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Spencer Brown (79) walks off the field with teammates Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, during a game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Spencer Brown (79) walks off the field with teammates Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, during a game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. / Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has vaulted himself back toward the front of the MVP race, and those around the league have taken notice.

Jackson, already a two-time MVP, looked like the clear frontrunner to win his third earlier in the season, but the conversation shifted more toward Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen around the mid-point of the campaign.

Lately, though, Jackson has been on an amazing hot streak as the Ravens surge toward the playoffs. After Wednesday's win over the Houston Texans, in which Jackson became the NFL's all-time leader in rushing yards by a quarterback, many analysts said Jackson should be neck-and-neck in this race, if not leading it.

Unsurprisingly, those comments did not go over well in western New York. When asked about the MVP race, Bills offensive tackle Spencer Brown backed his quarterabck while taking a thinly-veiled shot at Jackson.

"I just feel bad for a guy that's done everything right," Brown said. "What is this, his fourth consecutive year putting up 40+ touchdowns? Everyone's going to say that statistically the other guy should win, and if you rewind to last year, Josh had every statistic and he still won."

To play devil's advocate, Jackson's stats last season weren't the most eye-popping, especially for an MVP winner. He completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 3,678 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions, plus 821 yards and five touchdowns rushing. It was a relatively weak field by MVP standards, and Jackson's late-season surge definitely helped him win the award.

Saying that Allen had "every statistic" over Jackson, though? That's just flat-out untrue.

Jackson had the edge in passing yards per attempt (8 vs. 7.4), passer rating (102.7 vs. 92.2), rushing yards (821 vs. 524) and rushing yards per attempt (5.5 vs. 4.7). Most importantly, he only had seven interceptions to Allen's 18, the second-most in the league. Yes, Allen had more touchdowns, particularly on the ground, but he also cost his team far more than Jackson did, particularly early on.

Not to mention, Allen finished fifth in MVP voting. It wasn't some tight race like in many years past: Jackson received 49 of 50 first-place votes with Allen getting the other.

It's completely fair for Bills players and fans to advocate for their quarterback winning MVP, and he's certainly having an MVP-caliber season. If they're going to argue, though, they should at least get their facts straight.

Make sure you bookmark Baltimore Ravens on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

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