This year’s NFL MVP award was expected to be a two-man race between Matthew Stafford and Drake Maye, but Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was able to earn a surprise entry into the competition.

Stafford took home the award at the NFL Honors on Thursday night, beating out Maye in the closest race in more than two decades. But Allen — who had long fallen out of MVP odds as he failed in his bid to win back-to-back awards — managed to garner some first-place votes and could have played a significant role in the final outcome.

Josh Allen Earns Some Love From MVP Voters

As NFL.com’s Kevin Patra noted, Stafford earned barely enough votes to beat out Maye for the award, while two of the MVP voters still thought the Bills quarterback was the league’s most valuable player.

“Stafford just barely won MVP over Patriots quarterback Drake Maye in one of the closest MVP vote since 2003,” Patra wrote. “Stafford received 366 points with 24 first-place votes with Maye garnering 361 points and 23 first-place votes. Bills QB Josh Allen and the Chargers‘ Justin Herbert (one) got the other three first-place votes.”

While Allen fell well short of winning the award, his two first-place votes could have potentially swung the outcome of the race. Had either of his voters decided to go with division rival Maye instead, it would have given the race to the Patriots quarterback.

Allen’s win last year also came as a surprise, especially after Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson earned first-team All-Pro honors. The MVP voters are the same group that determines the All-Pro team, and it’s rare that a quarterback earns All-Pro without also winning MVP.

Loss Not a Surprise for Josh Allen

There had been little hope for Allen to repeat his 2024 NFL MVP award as the season stretched on, with both Stafford and Maye surging to the top of the odds during the season. Though there had been strenuous debate on the merits of Stafford versus Maye, Allen had fallen out of the discussion entirely by the final month of the season.

The team’s now-former head coach, Sean McDermott, did try to plead Allen’s case as the Bills were making a playoff push in December.

“I don’t do a very good job of knowing what’s going on around the league, but I can’t, in my mind, imagine anybody else has done more for their team on a more consistent basis than Josh Allen,” McDermott told SI.com’s Albert Breer. “I mean, who out there is playing better?”

When told that Maye and Stafford were seen as the frontrunners, McDermott still put his vote with Allen.

“That’ll work itself out in the end,” he replied. “And everyone’s going to vote how they want to vote. But there is absolutely no question in my mind who the MVP of this league is.”

Allen also used his stature to push for another dark horse candidate to win — teammate James Cook.

“He’s the best back in football. I don’t know how the awards will shake out, but he should be in the running for every award. He makes our offense go,” Allen said.