Who is the MVP frontrunner?
By: Jake Rajala
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is one of the most gutsy, gifted quarterbacks in the NFL today. He started out as a classic bust after being a first overall pick with the mighty Cleveland Browns, but he’s transformed into one of the most elite QBs over the past couple of seasons. He unleashed 41 passing touchdowns last season. In Mayfield fashion, he also led the league in interceptions (16).
In 2025, he’s notched 12 passing touchdowns (to 1 int) and 1,539 passing yards this season. Yes, he has only thrown one interception.
The best part is that he’s 4-1.
With that said, he is widely considered the MVP favorite. Is this rightfully true? I can’t deny it. As of late, he had a passer rating of 139 against the stingy 49ers defense. He has a passer rating of 108.5 on the season.
I do wish he played more than one divisional game this season, which was their Week 1 victory against the Atlanta Falcons. I also wish they didn’t lose to their best foe this season, which was the Philadelphia Eagles. To be fair, Philly may be worse than we originally thought.
So, a pivotal question arises: how does Baker stack up to other MVP candidates? DraftKings pegs Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen and Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes as the top two candidates, with Baker as the third MVP choice. I believe it’s ridiculous that Mahomes is a Top-3 option. After all, he sits at 3-3. I would put Sam Darnold, who is 4-2, ahead of Mahomes. Darnold also has 11 passing touchdowns. I also don’t love the fact that Josh Allen lost to the Patriots. They were given a lot of props for beating the Ravens, but we know Baltimore isn’t a juggernaut anymore. If the Pats win the division, Allen should just kiss the Lombardi trophy goodbye.
Dak Prescott is seen as a bit of a dark horse candidate to win MVP. I don’t love them holding a losing record (2-3-1). The team that beat Dallas yesterday was Carolina, and they are a middle of the pack squad. Prescott should be able to hold his ground. After all, I don’t see any analyst calling for Bryce Young to be MVP. I have to give Dak a lot of love for balling with Ceedee Lamb on the sideline, still.
The Bucs have won the division (NFC South) in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. If the Bucs can win their division again, Baker will have improved his odds. I can’t imagine that they lose to the Saints or the Falcons (in their second showdown) this season. The Panthers, who may be a wildcard team, could upset the Bucs, in my opinion.
There deserves to be extra props for Baker given that he has been playing with one arm behind his back, as the future Hall of Famer Mike Evans and elite slot WR Chris Godwin have been injured. The rookie Emeka Egbuka has been hurt, too. However, he impressively dazzled earlier in the season. He has 445 yards and five TDs. Just as we’ve seen coaches win COTY for being successful with injury riddled rosters, we should pay more attention to injuries happening on rosters with MVP candidates.
It’s also worth noting that the Bucs OC in 2024 (Liam Cohen) left to be the head coach in Jacksonville. Baker is playing with many new play designs. Yet, not even this could slow him down this season.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that QBs tend to win the prestigious award. The past 12 MVP winners were QBs! It’s clearly seen that stats are important, but team wins are largely dictated by QB play. Furthermore, there isn’t any RB or WR worthy enough (right now) to have the same impact an elite QB has on a team. Oddly, we see RBs and sometimes WRs win the OPOY award.
There has never been a Buccaneers player to win MVP. Yes, even Tom Brady didn’t win MVP in his Bucs tenure. We all know their Super Bowl glory with Hall of Fame players, but it’s fascinating to hear they’ve never had a player reach prolific heights.
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