Football fans who don’t support the Patriots must be jealous of New England going from Tom Brady to Drake Maye.
There were a few dark years in between, from when Brady left for Tampa Bay in 2020 to now, Maye’s sensational second season. But the losing in between might have been worth it and a reminder for quarterback-needy teams to stop opting for the quick-fix route and settling for mediocre signal-callers in free agency or in the later rounds of the draft. (I’m looking at you, Raiders.)
The superstar quarterbacks often come from the first round of the draft, such as Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert.
It appeared the Bills were on the verge of dominating the AFC East for the next decade, but the Patriots quickly regrouped with Maye, and now these two star quarterbacks are battling for more than just the division title.
Maye and Allen are two of our five MVP candidates through 11 weeks in the NFL. Let’s examine their MVP cases.
5. Christian McCaffrey, RB, 49ers (7–4)
The four obvious MVP candidates are listed below, but there are many worthy players for the fifth spot.
I nearly went with Seahawks star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who has 1,146 receiving yards through 10 games and has a shot at Calvin Johnson’s single-season record of 1,946 yards. But I couldn’t ignore what McCaffrey has done to keep the 49ers afloat amid massive injury waves.
After playing only four games last season, McCaffrey hasn’t missed a game through 11 weeks, is averaging 24.2 touches per game and has a league-high 193 carries. And he’s making those touches count, with 707 rushing yards, 74 catches for 732 yards and 11 total touchdowns. McCaffrey might be the only player in the league capable of handling that kind of workload. And it’s even more impressive that he’s doing this in his ninth NFL season at age 29.
4. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Colts (8–2)
Unfortunately, Taylor needs to have a historic season to have a legitimate shot at winning MVP over a quarterback. He’s certainly capable of setting a few records in the back end of the season. Still, before we get to his monster numbers, let’s examine his value to the Colts, who lead the AFC South by two games and hold the No. 3 seed.
Taylor’s presence has helped revive Daniel Jones’s career in his first season in Indianapolis. Obviously, Jones has done his part, but he struggled when Taylor had a rare quiet outing during a Week 9 loss to the Steelers. The Colts wouldn’t be in this position without Taylor being the engine of this high-scoring offense.
Taylor leads the league in rushing yards (1,139), rushing touchdowns (15), first downs (58) and yards per carry (6.0). If Taylor, who has 17 total touchdowns, can break LaDainian Tomlinson’s single-season record of 31 total touchdowns, it would be hard to deny him the MVP award.
3. Matthew Stafford, QB, Rams (8–2)
Stafford has the Rams tied with the Eagles for the best record in the NFC and helped his team beat the surging Seahawks to take control of first place in the NFC West.
At 37, he might be having his best career season, with a league-high 27 touchdown passes and only two interceptions. Stafford didn’t have the best outing against the Seahawks, but he protected the football in a game where every possession mattered. (Sam Darnold had four interceptions against the Rams.)
Stafford, who has completed 66% of his passes for 2,557 yards, hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 3 in Philadelphia and has thrown at least three touchdowns in five of his past seven games. He’s also distributing the ball to several players, not just Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, and has excelled in the Rams’ unique tight end-heavy scheme.
2. Josh Allen, QB, Bills (7–4)
It was challenging to rank Allen ahead of Stafford, but I’m banking on Allen doing more of what he did to the Buccaneers on Sunday during a dominant six-touchdown performance (three rushing, three passing).
With the Bills trailing in the standings, expect Allen to be unleashed and play Superman every week, because there’s no stopping this offense when he’s in his elite element.
And the reigning MVP is always a good bet to play at a high level for long stretches. The last time I wrote an MVP watch story, I had Allen, Darnold, Dak Prescott, Nacua and Baker Mayfield as the top five candidates. Either I’m terrible at this, or this shows how tough it is to sustain elite performance in the NFL.
We’ve become accustomed to seeing Allen play at his best every week, and his best might be the highest tier of quarterbacking in the NFL. Yes, even better than Mahomes because of what Allen can do as a runner.
Allen has completed 69.6% of his passes for 2,456 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also has 65 carries for 351 yards and 10 touchdowns.
1. Drake Maye, QB, Patriots (9–2)
The Patriots won the lottery when they landed the No. 3 pick in 2024, and now their stud second-year quarterback has them atop the AFC standings, tied with the Broncos for the best record in the conference.
Maye’s composure throughout games might be more impressive than his stellar numbers. The game has slowed down for him in the pocket, and his trust in his receivers has paid off for a team that’s missing a legitimate No. 1 option. Stefon Diggs, however, is having a standout comeback season during his first year in New England.
Maye has completed 71.9% of his passes for 2,836 yards—both league highs. He also has 20 touchdowns and only five interceptions. Maye outplayed Allen in Buffalo earlier this year, and he can improve his MVP stock by beating him again in Week 15. Maye also has a highly anticipated Week 16 matchup against Jackson’s Ravens.
Overall, the Patriots are well-positioned to clinch the No. 1 seed, with upcoming games against the Bengals, Giants, Jets and Dolphins. If New England handles business against the losing teams and splits against Buffalo and Baltimore, that might be enough for Maye to win MVP and secure the No. 1 seed.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Quarterbacks Dominate the Top Five Candidates for NFL MVP Through Week 11.
