Thursday night, the stage was set. The Baltimore Ravens may have been bounced too early in the postseason, but quarterback Lamar Jackson was about to give fans one more chance to stand up and cheer before the season officially wraps up with Super Bowl LIX.
Fans were anticipating Jackson to walk home with his third NFL MVP award as it seemed he had been the favorite for a couple of months now.
Jackson did face some other strong finalists, most notably Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. If any other two players were deserving of being in the conversation, it was them.
But, this award was Jackson's to lose, right? He had to have it locked up. The numbers should have proven it ... right?
Not so fast. Allen ended up taking home the hardware and, not to take anything away from the BIlls quarterback, but fans were left puzzled. So, why Allen over Lamar? One voter came out and gave his reasoning why.
Dan Orlovsky believes Lamar Jackson was the better player, but not more valuable than Josh Allen
First of all, the fact that former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky even gets a vote is something we could debate in a totally different conversation. Nonetheless, Orlovsky told the world his reasoning behind voting for Allen.
First, though, Orlovsky admitted he gave his First Team All Pro vote to Jackson.
"I voted for Lamar, First Team All Pro," Orlovsky admitted.
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OK, so we've acknowledged that he views Lamar as the best quarterback in football. That's essentially what Orlovsky is saying, here. So, explain why Allen is deserving of the MVP then.
"Josh had a 40-touchdown, eight-turnover, 14-sack season. The Bills didn't have an elite defense. The Bills had a very good run game, not a great run game. They didn't have elite perimeter players in any regard," he said.
"The way Josh played this season and the different style that he played brought tremendous value to the football team. Lamar's season was absolutely sensational. He was probably the best player in football this year.
"... but value, and how much you impact your team, who you do it with and who you do it against, that's where I thought Josh Allen had the upper hand," Orlovsky finished.
This is a classic debate that will probably never have a concrete answer. The definition of an MVP might never truly be known. Some vote based on stats. Others vote based on their perceived value of the player, if you were to take that player off their respective team.
Until there's a factual definition and parameters established for voting, we might have this kind of argument for the rest of our existence.