Josh Allen beat out two-time winner Lamar Jackson for the Most Valuable Player award in the closest race since Matt Ryan beat out Tom Brady in 2016.

Allen, who led Buffalo to a fifth straight AFC East title, got 27 first-place votes to Jackson’s 23 and finished with 383 points. He received 22 second-place votes and one third. Jackson, who led the Ravens to a second straight AFC North championship, got 26 second-place votes and one fourth for a total of 362 points.

How did Allen win MVP after finishing 2nd to Jackson in All-Pro vote?

Allen winning MVP after finishing second to Jackson in All-Pro voting was a bit of a surprise. Here’s how it happened.

Jackson had 30 of the 50 first team All-Pro votes, while Allen got 18. Allen then won the first place votes for MVP 27-23. But nine voters picked Jackson first for Offensive Player of the Year and Allen first for MVP, leading to the flip.

MVP Allen vs. runner-up Jackson, by the numbers.....

Allen threw for 3,731 yards, 28 TDs and had six picks for a 101.4 passer rating. He ran for 531 yards and 12 scores, becoming the first player in NFL history to have five consecutive seasons with at least 40 total touchdowns.

Jackson had career-highs with 4,172 yards passing, 41 TDs to just four interceptions and a 119.6 passer rating, which led the NFL. He got 30 first-place votes to Allen’s 18 to earn AP first-team All-Pro honors.

The last time a first-team All-Pro didn’t win the NFL MVP award was 1987. John Elway was the MVP that season and Joe Montana was first-team All-Pro. The MVP award is given to a player who had the most valuable season while All-Pro is a statistical recognition.