There’s a consensus among NFL fans when it comes to who the top quarterbacks in the league. Most of everyone’s Top 5 list will feature a combination of Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow and then one other QB that varies in terms of how a fan likes their signal-caller to play. Jalen Hurts is frequently mentioned, and Jayden Daniels is already knocking on the door following an incredible rookie season.
Only one of those has dominated their conference for the past seven years, though. Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have established themselves as the cream of the crop in the AFC, which has left Allen, Jackson, Burrow and many others with crumbs of success. Last year’s run to the Super Bowl for the Chiefs was most crushing for Allen, whose Buffalo Bills looked destined to finally make it back to The Big Game. Alas, the Chiefs came out on top, and Allen was distraught after the game.
Josh Allen is no longer thinking about his NFL MVP award
Allen has had to look for ways to cope with the loss. Motivation will never be an issue for the 2024 NFL MVP, but it was actually a recent press conference from elite golfer Scottie Scheffler that really resonated with Allen, who spoke to CBS Sports’ Evan Washburn at training camp. Scheffler went on a surprising self-inspired rant right before The Open Championship, which he ended up winning.
The main gist of Scheffler’s monologue was that he didn’t derive a ton of satisfaction from winning golf tournaments. At the end of the day, it’s just his job and it doesn’t fulfill the “deepest wants and desires of my heart”. So much work goes into being great at the job, yet the trade-off is only a small amount fo time to celebrate wins. That impacted Allen.
[It] spoke a lot to me. It’s maddening. But at the same time it helps put things in perspective about what matters in your life and you figure out what that is fairly quickly… Yeah, it’s kind of crazy where you’re coming out here and doing everything you can for a quick enjoyment of it and then you’re on to the next.
Allen then mentioned the MVP award he won last season. He doesn’t even think about it anymore, and is now fully focused on winning games for his team. Life simply goes on, quicker than normal, for professional athletes.
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