But Mahomes Has New Competitor For Award
While there are a number of players who can make their case for the award, the NFL MVP race is a tight one between Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes and New Orleans Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees.
Appearing to have control over the lead after a number of outstanding performances in huge wins, Drew Brees and the Saints came back to reality, and his performance last Thursday in Big D was one of his worst in his 13-year career in the Bayou.
Because of that, Patrick Mahomes leaped ahead of him in the NFL MVP race as we near the conclusion of the regular season.
Here are my NFL MVP rankings heading into Week 14 of the NFL regular-season.
NFL MVP Ladder
1. Patrick Mahomes
Mahomes torched the lowly Oakland Raiders for 295 passing yards and four touchdowns in the Kansas City Chiefs’ 40-33 win in Oakland. He now has 41 touchdown passes this season, as he is the youngest to reach the 40-TD plateau.
2. Drew Brees
Even while throwing for 127 passing yards with a interception last Thursday, Drew Brees still has a NFL-high 123.2 Passer Rating, which is on pace to break Aaron Rodgers’ record set back in 2011 when he had a 122.5 Passer Rating.
3. Todd Gurley
He’s leading the NFL in rushing and is a polished pass catcher after not being much of a factor in his first few seasons in the NFL. Without Gurley, Los Angeles’ play-action pass game is not what it is today, making him a top candidate for this year’s award.
4. Philip Rivers
Rivers has been a model of consistency in 2017. He’s on pace for career-highs in Passer Rating (115.7) and completion percentage (69.7)
5. Jared Goff
Goff is coming off a rather pedestrian performance. Still, he’s having a strong season for the team with the NFL’s best record at 11-1.
6. Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson has had help this season at running back, but he’s the most valuable player to a Seahawks team that has dealt with major injuries and drastic turnover on defense. He’s once again having a amazing season, throwing 29 touchdowns to just five interceptions.
7. Aaron Donald
The one defensive player deserving of being here, Aaron Donald is a unstoppable machine on the Rams defensive line. In just his past three games he has 6.5 sacks, bringing his total up to 16.5 with four games left in the season.
8. Alvin Kamara
With 1,297 total yards from scrimmage and 15 total touchdowns, Alvin Kamara is the the Saints most important offensive weapon. He had a quiet game in Week 13, but don’t expect that to continue this week vs Tampa Bay.
9. Andrew Luck
Luck’s NFL MVP chances took a major hit when he and his Indianapolis Colts failed to score in a 6-0 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday. He came into the game with eight straight games win at least three touchdown passes.
10. DeAndre Hopkins
He’s a long shot to win the award, but it’s hard to ignore the consistency of DeAndre Hopkins. The Houston Texans have been mostly a balanced offensive team with a heavy focus early on the run game, but that hasn’t effected Hopkins, who ranks in the top 5 in nearly every statistic for wide receivers. He’s also been huge for a team that’s won nine straight games.
Who’s your NFL MVP to this point? Leave your comments below!