MVP Race after Week 8: Allen takes over, Mahomes drops, Jackson stays put in second

Not for the first time, and maybe not for the last time, Patrick Mahomes has been displaced at the top of the MVP odds board. The Kansas City Chiefs are undefeated, but Patrick Mahomes is just a small part of their success and is far from putting up stats that we are used to seeing from the two-time MVP. Josh Allen, however, is thriving with the Buffalo Bills who have put an early season skid in the rearview. Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens were served up a loss in Cleveland by a Browns team in the midst of a revolution, while Jared Goff continues lead the Lions at the top of the NFC. Jalen Hurts and the Eagles aren’t far behind as his full arsenal of weapons are happy in healthy in the City of Brotherly Love.

Here are the MVP odds after Week 8 courtesy of MGM Grand.

Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills (+300)

The Bills were in one of those show me what you got games in Seattle, and Josh Allen showed us what he’s got. He jumped Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes after the Bills 31-10 blowout of the Seahawks on a day that he passed for 283 yards and 2 TDs. He did throw his first interception and we were curious to see how he would respond to that. All he did was bounce back by leading four straight scoring drives and building up a 21 point lead. His newest weapon on the WR corps, Amari Cooper, didn’t do much but Allen got Khalil Shakir involved after Keon Coleman had a big game last week in Cooper’s debut. They aren’t operating on the same page yet, but when this Bills offense really starts to click, watch out.

Pass stats: 64.1% CMP, 1,766 YDS, 14 TD, 1 INT, 107.6 RTG

Run stats: 45 CAR, 204 YDS, 3 TD

Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens (+350)

For the first time in a long time, the Baltimore Ravens didn’t look perfect. They weaknesses rose to the surface in their game against the Cleveland Browns, but it’s hard to point the finger at Jackson for the Week 8 loss. It took the QB a little while to get started, but once he locked in he ended up having another big, mistake free game. He went for 283 yard and threw two TDs while running for another 46 yards. The Ravens problem in Cleveland was their inability to get Derrick Henry into the game. If Kyle Hamilton makes the interception on Jameis Winston’s pass on the Browns final drive of the game Jackson is probably at the top of the odds list, but that’s the Ravens third loss of the season and those losses hurt MVP odds. Through the Ravens first 8 games he is on track to be the first 4,000 yard passer and 1,000 yard rusher in NFL history. If he gets that, it’d be hard not to hand him over the award, no matter what the Ravens record is.

Pass stats: 66.9% CMP, 2,099 YDS, 17 TDS, 2 INT, 115.4 RTG

Run stats: 81 CAR, 501 501 YDS, 2 TD

Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City (+500)

The Kansas City Chiefs are undefeated, and there is talk stirring of a potential perfect season in their three-peat run. That is obviously largely on the shoulders of their QB Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes had one of his better games this season against the Raiders on Sunday, but still dropped two places on the odds leaderboard. He had 262 yards and two TDs with an interception, and while it wasn’t comfortable they did get the win in a hostile environment and most importantly stayed undefeated. The trouble comes when you look at Mahomes’ TD and INT ratio. He has just 8 passing TDs and 9 INTs which is tied for most in the league with Baker Mayfield and Jordan Love.

Pass stats: 68.4% CMP, 1,651 YDS, 8 TD, 9 INT, 84.9 RTG

Run stats: 34 CAR, 139 YDS, 1 TD

Jared Goff, QB, Detroit Lions (+700)

Goff had a perfect stat padding day against the Tennensse Titans. It looked like they were going through walk through on Sunday in Detroit and only took Goff 15 pass attempts to throw 3 TDs. He had less than 90 yards passing but the Lions put up 52 points, so obviously they didn’t need him to light the score board up. Let me just read you some stats off real quick. In the last three games, Jared Goff has thrown 8 TDs and 13 incomplete passes. In the win over the Titans he became the first QB in history to complete 83% of his passes in three straight games. Goff is playing better at his position than anyone at any position in the league, and don’t be surprised to see him climb the MVP ladder if he continues to play like he has been.

Pass stats: 74.1% CMP, 1,695 YDS, 13 TD, 4 INT, 115.3 RTG

Run stats: 14 CAR, 18 YDS, 0 TD

Jalen Hurts, QB, Jalen Hurts (+2000)

Doesn’t it just feel like Jaylen Hurts and the Eagles are back to being the team they were two years ago? We saw have seen just how good this offense can be when Hurts has AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith and Saquon Barkley at his disposal. They have scored 65 points in the last two games with a full squad and it’s not just about the points, it’s how they are coming. Jalen Hurts is back to running for TDs, not just throwing for TDs. He went 16/20 for 236 yards and threw a TD and then had three TDs on the ground. If those aren’t numbers like he was putting up in their Super Bowl run season, then I don’t know what are.

Pass stats: 69.1% CMP, 1,544 YDS, 8 TD, 4 INT, 98.6 RTG

Run stats: 73 CAR, 255 YDS, 7 TD