(Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports) “Josh Allen throws the football”
Liam O’Keefe
Connector Staff
We are about a third of the way through the season already so it’s time to take a look around the league and see who the front runners are for the league’s most coveted award, the MVP.
One man whose name has been brought up in MVP conversations for years has been Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills. Allen has been putting up jaw-dropping numbers since his breakout season in 2020. However, Allen has never been able to bring home the honor of being the league’s MVP, but this year might be different.
The Buffalo Bills currently have one of the best records in the NFL and they have Allen to thank for that. Through four weeks of football Allen has seven touchdowns, the best quarterback rating in the league (82.3), and perhaps the most impressive is that he currently has zero turnovers. Turnovers have typically been the Achilles’ heel for Josh Allen’s MVP case with his total typically being in the double digits, and that is something MVP voters take very seriously and is the main reason they leave Allen off their ballot. If Allen can limit the turnovers and bring the Bills to the playoffs for the sixth year in a row, he could get the MVP he has been so close to for years.
At this time last year, nobody would have believed that Sam Darnold would find his way onto an MVP contenders list, yet he has a very strong case right now. He is the league leader in passing touchdowns (11) and the Minnesota Vikings are one of only two undefeated teams in the NFL, the other team being the back-to-back NFL champion Kansas City Chiefs headed by two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes. While it is reasonable to expect the Vikings to lose a game this season, if Darnold can keep the Vikings a top team in the NFL after being regarded as a team that would finish last in their division this offseason, then he will have a real shot at the MVP Trophy and have the opportunity to change his career and legacy as a football player forever.
It is hard to have an MVP contenders list and not have the reigning MVP on it. Lamar Jackson took home his second Most Valuable Player award during the 2023-24 season, and he is in prime condition to grab his third this season. Jackson’s passing numbers have been pretty good to start the season with, five touchdowns through the air and only one interception, but where Lamar shines is, once again, on the ground. Jackson currently has 308 rushing yards through four games which is the most of any quarterback in NFL history in that span. If Lamar can break his own record of 1,206 rushing yards by a quarterback in a year and rush for 1,000 yards for the third time in his career, he will have a very legitimate chance of being the first back-to-back MVP since Aaron Rodgers in 2020 and 2021 and the only active quarterback with 3 MVPs. Baltimore also needs to have similar regular season success as last year.
