The MVP ladder is back this week, with some significant shakeups that see a new No. 1 on top of the list as well as two new players among the group. This week has easily been the most chaotic of the season in terms of the shifting conversation surrounding the award and potential candidates, and it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see this list be shaken up in similar fashion in the coming weeks.
For now, New England’s Drake Maye leads our TeamFB7 NFL MVP ladder ahead of an action-packed Week 10, while Patrick Mahomes clings onto second place for dear life. Josh Allen reemerged as a top-tier favorite for the award as well, while Matthew Stafford’s consistency moved him up and Sam Darnold’s impressive week in Washington earned him a spot.
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Drake Maye
Drake Maye takes over the top spot this week after a lackluster performance by Mahomes against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Maye wasn’t squeaky clean in the Patriots’ 24-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons this week, throwing an interception for the second straight game, but he still completed over 65 percent of his passes and threw for 259 yards as his team was able to hang on for the win.
Maye is now third in the NFL in total EPA, trailing only Mahomes and Jordan Love, and his 17 passing touchdowns and 2,258 passing yards rank third and fifth in the NFL, respectively. Maye also has the fifth-most rushing yards of any quarterback in the league with 270, just 20 less than Allen has this season.
For all the critiques of the Patriots’ schedule, Maye also has the head-to-head win over fellow MVP candidate Josh Allen, who now has the head-to-head advantage over Mahomes. Maye will have to continue to impress and likely improve upon his performance, but the MVP trophy would be heading back to Foxboro if the season ended today.
Patrick Mahomes
Despite losing to Allen’s Bills on Sunday, I’m not yet ready to put the reigning MVP above Mahomes in this week’s ladder after not appearing in the top 5 at all last week. Mahomes still has four more passing touchdowns than Allen and still leads the NFL with an 86.26 EPA. Even without a touchdown pass on Sunday, Mahomes’ 17 on the season is still even with Maye.
Not to mention, Mahomes also leads the league with 21 total touchdowns this season as he also has four on the ground.
In fairness, Mahomes likely can’t afford to lose too many more games if he wants to keep his candidacy intact. The Chiefs are already 5-4 and have a handful of tough games still remaining on their schedule. If Mahomes plays like he did throughout the month of October, he’ll be back on track to win a third MVP.
Josh Allen
Allen could very well be at the top of this ranking next week, but for now he still has to get some of those passing numbers up to avoid a case of voter fatigue as he seeks his second consecutive MVP award.
Allen’s 13 passing touchdowns and 1,833 yards are both near the middle of the pack, but his seven rushing touchdowns are two more than any other quarterback in the NFL. His rushing prowess, combined with James Cook, has allowed the Bills to tout the league’s best run game by a mile, as their 161.5 yards per game is nearly 20 yards more than the next best quarterback.
If Allen can boost those passing numbers a bit, his candidacy would have a lot more legitimacy. He’s currently the consensus betting favorite after beating the Chiefs on Sunday, but he still has some work to do before making that a bet worth taking.
Matthew Stafford
Stafford continued his underrated push for MVP with arguably his best performance of the season on Sunday, completing 24-of-32 passes for 281 yards and four touchdowns en route to a 34-10 win over the New Orleans Saints.
Stafford has quietly put together the most impressive passing numbers in the NFL this season. The 37-year-old gunslinger leads the NFL with 21 touchdowns and he ranks sixth among all quarterbacks with 2,147 passing yards. Among players with over 200 pass attempts this season, Stafford’s two interceptions are second only to Jalen Hurts’ one.
Stafford is also the only quarterback with two of the top ten highest passing yardage games this season, stacking those performances in consecutive weeks. His 389 yards in an Oct. 2 loss to the San Francisco 49ers is the fifth-highest passing yardage total in the league this year, while his 375 yards against the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 28 is the seventh-highest.
Sam Darnold
After Jonathan Taylor’s 32-yard no-show in the Colts’ loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Sam Darnold’s absolute masterclass in the Seattle Seahawks’ blowout of the Washington Commanders on Sunday, Darnold claims the fifth spot on the ladder as Stafford moves up to fourth and Jonathan Taylor is sent packing (for now).
Darnold also takes a leap over Daniel Jones, who looked closer to the New York version of himself on Sunday than the version we’ve seen to start the season. Darnold, who also escaped from New York, completed his first 16 passes on Sunday en route to completing 21-of-24 passes overall for 330 yards, four touchdowns and an interception.
Darnold’s 16 passing touchdowns place him just below the six-way tie for fourth place in the NFL at the moment, but his 66.19 EPA ranks fifth in the league, and his adjusted EPA per play is far away the best in the league. Additionally, Seattle’s 6-2 start can largely be attributed to the magic that Darnold has found with his top connection and current NFL receiving leader, Jaxon Smith-Njigba.