MVP Race after Week 11: Allen takes top spot, Mahomes drops after first loss

It’s not every week that each and everyone of the top MVP candidates have massive midseason match ups against each other, but this past weekend that was the case. All five QBs in contention for the MVP were involved in headline matchups in Week 11, and one of them came out as the leader of the pack. We have replaced one of the rookie candidates from last week with the king of the jungle in the NFC, but other than that the list consists of the same candidates, although the standings are looking a little different this week.

Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills (+150)

We have a new leader on the board, and it’s the guy who single handily won the game for the Buffalo Bills on Sunday in Orchard Park. After 10 weeks of undefeated football, it was going to take a herculean effort to take down the Chiefs and that’s what Allen produced in the game of the regular season. He was going up against his arch nemesis in Patrick Mahomes. The team that has had their number for the last half decade in the Chiefs. The reason this franchise hasn’t been to the Super Bowl despite knocking on the door year after year. Allen was missing to of his top targets in Keon Coleman and Dalton Kincaid, but he had Amari Cooper and Khalil Shakir. As always it went down to the wire as Mahomes and Allen went toe-to-toe for 12 rounds, but it was one play that set the two players and the two teams apart on Sunday from Highmark Stadium. Up by two with a chance to kill off the two time defending champions, Buffalo went after the game. On 4th and 2 the Bills could have gone for a field goal to go up 5, but Sean McDermott went for the jugular and put the ball in his QBs hands. Allen made maybe the play of the season, and a potential MVP winning play, going 26 yards to the house to seal the win and hand the Chiefs their first loss of the season.

Pass stats: 64% CMP, 2,543 YDS, 18 TDS, 5 INT, 98.2 RTG

Run stats: 67 CAR, 316 YDS, 5 TDS

Lamar Jackson, QB Baltimore Ravens (+200)

The two time MVP met his match this weekend in Pittsburgh. The Steelers have been Jackson’s black beast, and really one of the only teams that have been able to give him persistent problems. He was 2-4 against Pittsburgh going into Sunday, and the Steelers defense locked him down again. He went just 16/33 for 207 yards, but he did lead a potential game-tying TD drive in the last three and a half minutes. He hit Zay Flowers on a 16 yard TD pass with just over a minute to go, but he looked just as lost on the two point conversion as he did most of the day against the Steelers defense. Jackson is still the NFL leader in RTG, second in pass yards and pass TDs, while only throwing three INTs, and has almost 600 yards rushing, but the Ravens have lost four games this season. Jackson is doing everything he needs to statistically to win the MVP, but when you look at Josh Allen, Jared Goff and Jalen Hurts who are on top teams with top records, it might keep Lamar from a second straight and a third overall MVP award.

Pass stats: 67% CMP, 2,876 YDS, 25 TD, 3 INT, 117.3 RTG

Run stats: 95 CAR, 584 YDS, 2 TDS

Jared Goff, QB, Detroit Lions (+600)

Two Mondays ago it was the Lions carrying Jared Goff over the Texans on a rare off night in which he had a career high five interceptions. The Lions and Goff put that performance in the rear view as they cruised to a blow out win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The matchup against the Jags was the perfect remedy for Goff who was coming off of a nightmare game that almost cost the Lions their second loss of the season. Every time Red Zone flashed to the game in Detroit it seemed like Goff was connecting with one of his receivers on an explosive play down the field. Goff had a 400 yard, 4 TD day while connecting on 24 of his 29 passes and put up a perfect 153.8 RTG. Goff is the most accurate starting QB that has played in every game for his team at 73% and his 112.1 RTG is second in the league behind Lamar Jackson.

Pass stats: 73% CMP, 2,492 YDS, 20 TD, 9 INT, 112.1 RTG

Run stats: 22 CAR, 39 YDS, 0 TD

Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles (+1400)

For the second straight week the Eagles locked horns with a division rival on primetime and for the second straight week the Eagles came out victorious, although their Thursday night match up against the Commanders wasn’t as easy as it looked in the fourth quarter. It was Saquon Barkley and the run game that made headlines in Week 11. Barkley had 146 of the 228 rushing yards, but Hurts had 39 of those with a Tush Push TD at the start of the 4th quarter to give the Eagles their first lead of the night. It wasn’t a night that will win the Philly QB the MVP, but it was a night that Hurts’ 221 yards on 18/28 was enough to push his team to victory in a big NFC East night under the bright lights. Other than his 11 TD rushes which are second in the NFL behind Derrick Henry, his numbers are middle of the pack at best but the Eagles are 8-2 and on the Detroit Lions heels in the race for the one seed in the NFC. Hurts is capable of having big passing games, and I’m sure he will when the Eagles need him to, but with Saquon Barkley in the backfield the work load has lightened on the Eagles QB.

Pass stats: 69.2% CMP, 2,197 YDS, 12 TD, 5 INT, 101.8 RTG

Run stats: 103 CAR, 417 TDS, 11 TD

Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs (+1400)

The game of games from Buffalo started rough for Patrick Mahomes and never got much easier. Two two time MVP threw a pick on his first pass of the afternoon, and spent much of the day trying to catch up to the Bills. That’s nothing new for the Chiefs who have spent much of the first half first 10 weeks of the season chasing games, but the Bills made sure Mahomes didn’t have a chance for any late game heroics by burying the Chiefs on Allen’s 4th and 2 conversion turned touchdown. Mahomes went 23/33 for 196 yards, throwing 3 TDs and two picks, but it wasn’t the typical game we see from the KC QB in a game against the Bills. That’s a summation of how this season has gone him and the Chiefs offense. Before last weekend we let it slide because they Chiefs were undefeated, but this first loss might stat to put things in perspective and that reflects on the MVP odds leader board after Week 11.

Pass stats: 69.5 CMP, 2,404 YDS, 15 TD, 11 INT, 90.3 RTG

Run stats: 39 CAR, 167 YDS, 1 TD