After the sixth Sunday of the NFL season concluded, “MVP” chants were heard in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Despite what Tez Johnson thought, those “MVP” chants were for Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield. Mayfield finished Sunday’s 30-19 win over the San Francisco 49ers 17-of-23 passing for 256 yards and two touchdown passes. He also ran for 14 yards, including an incredible 15-yard scramble on 3rd-and-14.
The Buccaneers are 5-1, tied atop the NFC and are the sixth-best scoring offense, averaging 27.5 points a game. Mayfield is fourth in the league in passing yards (1,539), tied third in touchdown passes (12) and has turned the ball over only once. A third of the way through and Mayfield has +470 odds to win the award on FanDuel.
If Mayfield can continue to perform like this while the Buccaneers continue to win games, he will surely be in the MVP discussion. Who else is currently in that discussion?
Predicting the 2025 NFL MVP finalists
1. Patrick Mahomes | QB | Kansas City Chiefs
Year in and year out, Mahomes will find himself in the MVP talks. At 30 years old, he is already a two-time MVP winner.
Despite a 3-3 record this season, Mahomes is playing some of the best football of his career. As always, he’s getting it done with his arm, but this year, he’s averaging 27 rushing yards a game, the most of his career.
For the rest of the season, Mahomes should see a boost in his passing stats, considering his No. 1 target, Rashee Rice, is set to make his season debut after serving his six-game suspension.
Mahomes is the next Tom Brady; each year, Mahomes and the Chiefs will be in MVP and Super Bowl discussions. Currently on FanDuel, Mahomes has the second-best odds at the award at +270.
2. Josh Allen | QB | Buffalo Bills
The reigning MVP, Allen has led the Bills to a 4-1 record. It’s hard to emphasize how impactful he is with just his stats, but this year, he’s having another strong season.
Through five games so far ahead of their “Monday Night Football” game against the Atlanta Falcons, the Bills offense is averaging the most yards per game (395.8), is top 10 in passing yards a game (241.4) and second in rushing yards per game (154.4) and is one of three teams averaging at least 30 points per game. The center of all of that is Allen.
The Bills can run away with the AFC’s No. 1 seed if Allen can keep up limiting turnovers (2 INT, 1 fumble) and continue to feed this high-powered offense. Allen is the current favorite to win the MVP on FanDuel with +140 odds.
3. Daniel Jones | QB | Indianapolis Colts
The biggest surprise on this list is the leader of the league’s best scoring offense. Through six games, Jones is playing like a completely different quarterback than his time in New York, leading the Colts to an average of 32.3 points a game.
Before coming to Indianapolis, Jones averaged 31 yards on the ground per game, but this year, that number is only 12.7. However, Jones has found the end zone on the ground four times.
Where Jones lacked in New York was as a passer, only averaging 208.3 yards and one touchdown per game. Jones has seen an increase in passing yards per game (250.3), QBR (79.9) and completion percentage (71.7%) this season.
Jones is also not getting hit as much. He’s experiencing a career low in sack percentage (2.7%) and isn’t turning the ball over (3 INT, 0 fumbles). Jones currently has +3300 odds on FanDuel to win MVP, but if the Colts can continue this high-scoring offense, expect those odds to rise.
