Comparing Josh Allen’s season to the 2022 AFC Pro Bowl quarterbacks
By Mia Claydon
Lamar Jackson vs. Josh Allen
Believed to be the ‘most talented player‘ in the NFL, Lamar Jackson has displayed an array of skills since his first-round selection in the 2018 Draft. His fantastic second season earned him a unanimous NFL Most Valuable Player award. In four seasons at the Baltimore Raven’s, Jackson has received two Pro Bowl selections, his first in his MVP season (2019) and the second, this season (2021). Similar to Allen, Jackson has great throwing and rushing ability.
This season, however, has not been his most prolific. He has seen injuries, meaning he only played 12 games, but I’m still sure most would agree that he’s had a relatively quiet season. Jackson threw for 2882 yards, exceeding last year’s total of 2757 yards in 15 games – however a considerable difference to Allen’s 4407 yards.
In his MVP season, Jackson threw for 3127 yards, over 1000 yards less than Allen’s current total. This season, Jackson threw 16 TDs and 13 interceptions compared to Allen’s 36 TDs and 15 interceptions in just 4 more in-season games, shows the magnitude of Allen’s ability.
However, it’s unfair to compare purely passing statistics, due to Jackson’s rushing ability. This season, the Ravens QB rushed for 767 yards, only narrowly beating Allen (763). Allen also had more rushing touchdowns (6) than Jackson (2). In just 12 games, Jackson was sacked 38 times, compared to Allen’s 26 sacks in 17 games.
Despite having a great start to his NFL career, stats suggest that this season was not one of his best. His injury was unfortunate, and I believe cost Baltimore the AFC North title, but based on this season alone, I believe Josh Allen should have secured this spot.