Week 14 of the 2025 NFL season has come and gone, meaning discussions for season-end awards are picking up. The top contenders for each award have made themselves clear over the past few months. Now, we’re in the home stretch for those contenders to strengthen their case. The most important race of them all is the one for the NFL’s Most Valuable Player.
A quarterback has won the NFL MVP every year since 2013, so history indicates the winner will likely be a QB. There have been plenty of standouts, including some that might not have initially been on the radar as MVP candidates heading into the season. These five players stand out as top candidates for the Most Valuable Player award in football.
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Heading into Week 15, Matthew Stafford is the odds-on favorite to win the NFL MVP for the 2025-26 season. He’s playing arguably the best football of his career at 37 years old, and the Los Angeles Rams sit with a 10-3 record as one of the best teams in the league this season.
As of this writing, Stafford ranks fourth in the league with 3,354 passing yards in 13 starts. He tops the leaderboard with 35 passing touchdowns, and he’s nine touchdowns ahead of the two current holders of second place, Dak Prescott and Jared Goff. He also leads the NFL with a 113.1 passer rating, a respectable 66.7% completion percentage, and the lowest interception total among the top 10 in passing attempts.
It certainly helps that the Rams are playing as well as they are, too. The team around him is tremendous, but having elite quarterback play is arguably what’s propelled them to the top of the NFC. Should Stafford win MVP this year, it would be a massive boost to his legacy and likely solidify him as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Even though it came as an alternate, Drake Maye made it to the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2024. He showed plenty of intriguing flashes amidst a disappointing 4-13 season for the New England Patriots. This year, though, the team has turned it around to the tune of an 11-2 record, and a big part of that jump has been the progression of their quarterback.
In addition to leading his team to the NFL’s best record (in a tie with the Denver Broncos), Maye also leads the league with a 71.5% completion percentage. His 9.33 adjusted yards gained per attempt is the highest of any starter, his 111.9 passer rating ranks second, he’s second with 3,412 passing yards, and he’s fourth with 23 passing touchdowns.
If the NFL had a “Most Improved Player” award, it would surely go to Maye. He’s been a revelation for New England, maximizing his impressive physical tools with improved accuracy and decision-making down the field. Should the Patriots finish the year hot, it could be enough to earn him the MVP.
Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
As the reigning NFL MVP, Josh Allen was naturally going to have a target on his back this season. With roughly one month left in the regular season, it’s hard to say he hasn’t lived up to expectations.
Compared to his MVP-winning season last year, Allen has actually improved in a handful of areas. His completion percentage has improved by nearly 7.0%, his passer rating has jumped from 101.4 last year to 102.9 this season, and his 5.8% touchdown percentage remains the same.
You can’t ignore the rushing ability with Allen, either. He’s tied for third in the entire NFL with 12 rushing touchdowns, already matching his total from last year. He also leads all quarterbacks with 487 rushing yards. I’d circle Buffalo’s Week 15 matchup against the Patriots; outperforming Maye in a win would do wonders for Allen’s MVP chances.
Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
Name any primary passing statistic, and Jordan Love is in at least the top ten for that category. He’s been a big reason the Green Bay Packers are in first place in a competitive NFC North, and he continues to improve in key aspects of his game in his third year as the team’s starting quarterback.
A big part of Love’s leap in 2025 has been his decision-making. He threw 11 interceptions each in 2023 and 2024. With four more games left to play this season, he has only thrown four. His 1.0% INT percentage is the lowest of his career, and he also has a career-high 67.1% completion rate through 13 games.
If the Packers win their division, it’s hard to argue that Love doesn’t deserve MVP consideration. He’s top ten in passing yards, passing touchdowns, completion percentage, passer rating, yards per completion, and yards per attempt, among other categories. Green Bay has a strict schedule ahead, and if Love can keep this level of play up, he’ll cement himself as a strong contender.
Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Realistically, Dak Prescott doesn’t project as a strong MVP candidate due to his team’s record: the Dallas Cowboys are 6-6-1 at this juncture. That said, it’s honestly a miracle they remain competitive in the playoff race with how bad their defense has been this season. Prescott deserves a lot of credit for that.
The Cowboys have the second-worst defense in the NFL by PFSN’s Defense Impact grading, but their offense ranks fourth by our Offense Impact metric. With 29.3 points per game, their offense is scoring the third-most points per week, yet they have a -5 point differential this season. That’s an incredible obstacle to overcome.
Prescott has been great through all of it, even without star receiver CeeDee Lamb for part of the season. His 3,637 passing yards lead the NFL, and he also leads the league in first downs (178) and QBR (73.4). He’s tied for second in passing touchdowns, and he’s also fifth with a 69.0% completion rate. Though Prescott probably won’t win MVP, an argument could be made that he’s been the most valuable player to his team of any NFL player this year.
