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Mark Ingram II would go with his former quarterback, Lamar Jackson, as the 2024 NFL MVP. The NFL MVP will likely be a battle between Jackson, Josh Allen and Saquon Barkley. Allen is considered the favorite to win the award. However, Ingram would go with his former Baltimore Ravens teammate as the MVP considering he’s coming off of an even better year than his MVP season from a year ago.
“I think Lamar should still be the MVP,” Ingram said in a one-on-one interview. “His numbers were better than a year ago. He had 4,000 yards passing and 800 yards rushing, which has never been done in the NFL before. That right there is prestigious in its own right as long as the NFL has been around. As many great players there’s been in the NFL, no one has ever done what he’s been able to accomplish.”
Ingram admits that Allen has had to carry the Buffalo Bills all season long. The 28-year-old quarterback led the Bills to a 13-4 record, including wins over the best teams in the NFL in the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions. Despite losing his best receiver, Stefon Diggs, in the offseason, Allen posted 40 total touchdowns and a 101.4 passer rating against just six interceptions.
While Allen won the divisional round playoff matchup, Ingram would still go with Jackson, who posted 45 total touchdowns against just four interceptions, along with a league-leading 119.6 passer rating.
“Obviously, Josh Allen won the game that mattered the most,” Ingram said. “He’s been extremely important to his team as well. He’s had to be Superman, put that team on his back all year long and he’ll have to do it again this weekend in the AFC Championship Game. Maybe I’m biased, but I like to go Lamar Jackson. It’s all preference, man. You can’t go wrong with either one of those picks.”
The MVP is probably a battle between the two quarterbacks despite Barkley’s 2,000-yard rushing season. The Philadelphia Eagles running back became just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season. He had an opportunity to break Eric Dickerson’s 40-year-old single-season rushing record in the final week of the season — he needed just 101 yards — however, he sat out the final week of the season with the Eagles having nothing to play for.
Ingram didn’t pick Barkley as his MVP, but says his fellow running back is “deserving” of the award.
“ I think Saquon is deserving of the MVP award, and I think he should be getting more conversation around that award,” Ingram said. “Obviously, they always talk about it being a quarterback award — but it’s the Most Valuable Player Award. I don’t think the Eagles would be where they are right now without Saquon Barkley having the year he’s had.”
Barkley has helped transform a team that had lost six of its last seven games last season into a bonafide Super Bowl contender. The...
