Getty Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen tries to change the play at the line of scrimmage during their AFC Championship against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Josh Allen had an almost unprecedented jump between his second and third NFL seasons, but one analyst thinks the Buffalo Bills quarterback will reach even higher in his fourth.
After struggling with inconsistency and decision-making through his first two seasons, Allen found his rhythm in 2020, breaking a number of team records while leading the team to the AFC Championship game. Good Morning Football analyst Peter Schrager said he believes the bar will be even higher for Allen in 2021.
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Allen Set for Huge Year
As the USA Today’s Bills Wire noted, Allen was the subject of discussion on the NFL Network show this week after he had appeared on co-host Kyle Brandt’s podcast. The morning show panel discussed the projections for the Bills quarterback heading into 2021. After Brandt said that Allen was “almost” the league’s best quarterback, Shrager shared an even bolder assessment.
“I don’t think like… he’s a MVP candidate, I think he’s a MVP favorite for this season,” Schrager said. “I think that’s the next step.”
WATCH: Peter Schrager tabbed #Bills QB Josh Allen his 2021 ‘MVP favorite’
Many others see Allen as among the frontrunners for the league MVP in 2021, but behind two other high-profile signal callers. As USA Today’s For the Win noted, Allen had the third-best odds on BetMGM’s list of contenders with 12-to-1 odds. Reigning MVP Rodgers came in at 8-to-1 odds and 2018 MVP Patrick Mahomes was on top with 6-to-1 odds.
Allen came closer to an MVP season in 2020 than any other Buffalo Bill in decades. He notched four votes this season, far behind Rodgers with 44 but ahead of Mahomes, who received two votes.
It was a significant jump from his first two NFL seasons. After completing fewer than 60 percent of his passes in 2018 and 2019, Allen hit on 69.2 percent of his attempts last season, making for one of the largest single-season jumps in NFL history. Allen racked up 4,544 yards along with 37 touchdowns while breaking franchise records for both stats. He added another 421 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the ground.
Allen Sets Sights High For 2021
Allen has his own goals for the next season, and it doesn’t appear that personal accolades rank very high. After the team’s AFC title game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Allen joined Bills coach Sean McDermott in predicting that the team would be back even stronger next year and that the tough loss would serve as motivation.
“This one is not going to be fun watching over. It’s not fun falling a game short of the Super Bowl. One team had to win, one team had to lose,” Allen said, via the USA Today’s Bills Wire. “We didn’t play good enough to win tonight and it’s going to fuel us… I got no doubt in my mind that we will be back.”
The Bills return largely the same offensive skill group as last season, losing wide receiver John Brown but replacing him with veteran Emmanuel Sanders. Allen will now try to become the second member of the Buffalo Bills to ever win the award, joining Thurman Thomas who took MVP honors in 1991.
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