The MVP race is heating up, and most of the fight is coming from the NFC.
On Sunday, Brock Purdy went out and led the 49ers to a win over the Eagles, bringing the Cowboys within a game of Philadelphia in the NFC East. Purdy was sublime with the help of a Globetrotters-level supporting cast, amassing 314 passing yards and four touchdowns.
On Thursday night, Dak Prescott led the Cowboys to a 41–35 win over the Seahawks (and the officials, who whistled the game like they wanted both teams to lose). Dallas got a vintage effort from Prescott, who threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns.
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So who is the MVP front-runner? Who’s rising and falling? Let’s dive in.
Rising
Brock Purdy, QB, 49ersLast Week: N/A
Purdy is a polarizing player. Some see him as a caretaker who gets the majority of his yards with Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey running after the catch. However, Purdy’s numbers are great. He’s first in yards per attempt (9.6), fourth in touchdown passes (23) and seventh in passing yardage (3,185).
Dak Prescott, QB, Cowboys
Last Week: N/A
Prescott is on an unbelievable stretch. He’s leading the league with 26 touchdown passes, while completing 70.1% of attempts. Over his past half-dozen games, Prescott has thrown 20 touchdowns against two interceptions with a QB rating of at least 115 in five of those six contests.
Tyreek Hill, WR, Dolphins
Last week: Holding steady
Hill needs only 519 yards over the last five weeks to become the first receiver to notch 2,000 yards in a season. By extension, he’s pushing to be the first wideout to win the MVP award. That said, he faces an uphill climb in betting markets, with winning Offensive Player of the Year a better bet.
Holding steady
Lamar Jackson, QB, RavensLast week: Holding steady
Coming out of the bye, Jackson has a couple of premium, prime-time games to make his case for a second MVP award over the past five seasons. Jackson will need to be great down the stretch without tight end Mark Andrews to keep the Ravens among the top teams in the AFC.
Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Dolphins
Last week: Falling
Tagovailoa had an excellent outing against the Commanders, throwing for 280 yards and two scores on 11.7 YPA. For the year, the Dolphins’ signal-caller has 24 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. If someone from Miami wins MVP, it’ll likely be Hill, but Tagovailoa has his own case.
Falling
Patrick Mahomes, QB, ChiefsLast week: Rising
Mahomes wasn’t bad on Sunday night in a 27–19 loss to the Packers, but he didn’t wow, either. The Chiefs’ star quarterback threw for 210 yards on 6.4 YPA with a touchdown and an interception. A bad evening? No, but nothing to move his stock in a positive direction.
Jalen Hurts, QB, Eagles
Hurts was tracking as the favorite going into Week 13, but he and the Eagles were throttled by the 49ers, 42–19. Despite Hurts’s accounting for 318 total yards, he did so on 45 pass attempts and seven carries. It wasn’t enough, with a lot of empty yards at the end.
