ClutchPoints
It’s very rare that you get a battle of top-three MVP candidates in December, but that’s exactly what we got on Sunday when Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills played Drake Maye and the New England Patriots.
Maye looked like he was poised to get his hands on the award and the AFC East crown when the Patriots went upon 21-0 in the first half. However, Allen had other ideas, staging a massive comeback that included five consecutive touchdown drives to help the Bills get a 35-31 win and stay alive in the division race.
Meanwhile, Matthew Stafford strengthened his stranglehold on the top spot with a masterful performance in a 41-34 win over the Lions. He can make another big statement in a massive game against the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.
Did Allen do enough to pass Maye? And who rounds out the top five with just three weeks to go?
Honorable Mention: Colts RB Jonathan Taylor, Browns EDGE Myles Garrett, Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cowboys QB Dak Prescott
The stats won’t tell you Justin Herbert should be anywhere near an MVP list. In order to truly grasp the impact that Herbert has, you really have to watch the Chargers play. The Los Angeles run game is above-average in terms of efficiency, but it doesn’t get a lot of explosive plays and also has a lot of negative gains.
The offensive line has been an abject disaster since Joe Alt suffered a season-ending ankle injury, just the biggest of a long list of injuries up front. Herbert has been pressured 239 times total this season according to Next Gen Stats; Cam Ward (201) is the only other QB above 200. His 43.9% pressure rate trails only Justin Fields, who was benched midseason.
Despite all of those problems on offense, Herbert has the Chargers at 10-4 and still in the AFC West race despite the Broncos’ 11-game winning streak. In a win over the Chiefs on Sunday, Herbert throwing downfield into tight windows was Los Angeles’ only way to move the ball, and he did it often enough to get the win.
I would go as far as to make the case that if you replaced every quarterback in the NFL with a replacement-level player, the Chargers would experience the biggest drop-off. That alone won’t win him the award, but it’s enough for a spot on the list.
Week 15 was a tale of two halves for Love and the Packers. Green Bay’s offense was on fire in the early going, getting out to a 23-14 lead over the Broncos despite some struggles in the red zone.
However, after a third-quarter interception by Patrick Surtain II, everything went downhill for Green Bay. Both Christian Watson and Micah Parsons got injured and the Packers sputtered on both sides of the ball in a 34-26 loss.
Love likely needed a big performance and a win in that game in...
