Not a dead horse to beat here, but the MVP race is over. Call Vince Carter and fire up the GIF. it’s over. His antics with Saquon Barkley were cute, but Josh Allen clinched the award Sunday with his third straight signing game, playing some historically great football that will set him up for the all-time record in the 2024 season.
Allen tamed another NFL giant on Sunday, defeating the Lions 48-42. Detroit and Kansas City, two of the best teams in football, are currently 0-2 against the Bills and 25-1 against the rest of the NFL. The Bills now become just the second team in NFL history to post multiple 10-game winning streaks in the same season.
And Allen did it all again on Sunday, throwing for 362 yards, two touchdowns and rushing for 68 yards and two more scores. He has 14 total touchdowns (seven passing, six rushing, one receiving) over the last three games. He has consecutive games with at least 340 passing yards, 60 or more rushing yards, two or more passing touchdowns, and two or more rushing touchdowns. A game like this has only happened once in NFL history, when Steve Young pulled it off in 1991. He is also the only quarterback since 1970 to have six or more passing touchdowns and six or more rushing touchdowns in three games.
Fantasy owners know that too. Allen is the first player in NFL history to score 40 or more fantasy points in consecutive games. He has single-handedly led his team to the title for the past three weeks. He currently has back-to-back seasons with 25+ passing touchdowns and 10+ rushing touchdowns… only two other seasons have achieved these milestones (Cam Newton, 2015 and Kyler Murray, 2020).
Buffalo entered Sunday’s game with eight straight games topping 30 points, tying the mark set by Peyton Manning and the Broncos in 2013. Manning then erased the passing record and was almost unanimously named MVP (49 out of 50 votes). The Bills became the first team in NFL history to allow 40 points in back-to-back games, a recognition we at CBS Sports appreciate, Buffalo.
What’s more, Allen hasn’t committed a turnover during this stretch. He is the only quarterback in the NFL this season to record zero picks, fumbles, and sacks in three consecutive games.
Now, it might all be pointless. It seems like the Chiefs have no intention of breaking their spell of winning. If Allen wants to play in the Super Bowl, he may need to go to Arrowhead at some point. That’s no easy task given Kansas City’s defense, the presence of Patrick Mahomes/Andy Reid/Travis Kelce, and the Chiefs’ ability to turn things around even more entering the postseason.
Buffalo clinched the tiebreaker against Kansas City, but the Chiefs are running out of games to lose. But the upcoming schedule is much friendlier to Buffalo. The Bills tied the Patriots twice, and the Jets were caught in between. They have a strong recent history of dominating in the division, and I expect them to finish with three more wins against lower-ranked opponents, but Aaron Rodgers and the Jets’ offense need to play well. looked much better since he realized it would be a team win. The ultimate mean act from his soon-to-be former team.
The Chiefs play the Texans at home this week, then have to play the Steelers and Broncos on the road. They could potentially drop two of their matchups against current playoff teams. That’s not all that surprising considering how the Chiefs are playing. But it wouldn’t be surprising if Kansas City went 2-1 and held off the Bills to secure the AFC’s top seed.
That means that even though Allen has already won the MVP award, he will have to go on the road and test it out against a dynastic coach and quarterback in the toughest environment in football. The award of being the best player in the NFL for an entire season isn’t necessarily something you want to receive.
Two teams you don’t want to see in the playoffs
At the risk of giving away free advertising, I have to talk about a phenomenon: Jordan Love’s performance during Toyota’s annual sale. That’s a thing! Toyotathon will be held from November 15th to January 9th, and after crushing the NFL in a similar span last season, Love is on another heater after going to Seattle on Sunday night, with a 30- He won 13, throwing for 229 yards, two touchdowns, and no hits. Pick.
His career, late season numbers are amazing.
If you took those numbers from last season and applied them to the entire 17-game season, he could easily have won MVP. He’s starting to put together similar numbers heading into the most important part of the NFL season, and while it’s fun to talk about Toyota, that’s probably just part of Love’s profile as a quarterback.
He always wore stripes in college. And it looked much the same when he came to the NFL. But don’t look at stripes as a bad thing. Sometimes stripes are good, and sometimes stripes are great. And when Love gets into really great shape at the end of the season, it looks like MVP-level football.
It’s also why the Packers, like the Rams, which we’ll get into later, are very likely a team you don’t want to see in the playoffs this year.
With losses to the Dolphins and Colts on Sunday, the AFC feels pretty easy. The top teams have top quarterbacks (Bills, Chiefs, Ravens), and it’s probably going to be some combination of them when they face each other in the AFC title game. The rest of the teams are certainly capable of making the run, but they have an extra level because of the play of their elite quarterbacks.
However, NFC is completely different. Love and Matthew Stafford stand out as streaky and hot disruptors in the rest of the conference.
They both have top-notch arm talent. Both players aren’t afraid to throw interceptions or push the ball vertically down the field. Both players have high-level coaches in Shahanan Tree, Matt LaFleur and Sean McVay. Both teams play a physical run game, and if they have a lead, they can wear down the opponent late in the game. They both have a trove of weapons at their disposal.
Rams with healthy Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp — And yes, I know they didn’t score a touchdown in Thursday’s 12-6 win over San Francisco, but no, I don’t care. No, they will do the right thing — have the league’s best wide receiver duo. DeMarcus Robinson, Tutu Atwell, and Colby Parkinson are very nice complementary pieces.
All of the Packers players complement each other very well. Romeo Doubes’ return from injury means a lot to Green Bay, as evidenced by his two touchdowns Sunday night in Seattle. Christian Watson is a pure deep threat who can take the top off any defense. Jaden Reed has been quiet lately, but he could explode at any time, especially when LaFleur starts rolling out his various jet-sweep moves. Dontavion Wicks isn’t afraid to come off the bench, and Tucker Craft was a revelation this year. He also has a strong relationship with Beau Melton and Malik Heath.
And when both teams get hot, so do they. We saw this with the Rams last year, but they were on a hot streak until they faced a very good Lions team in Detroit in the playoffs. The Packers set Jerry Jones’ house on fire during the postseason, and Love moved in when the playoffs began.
Elite quarterback play for a wild card candidate is exactly how to shake things up in the playoffs. The Eagles seem to be rock solid right now, while the Lions are the best team in football, but they’re battling injuries. The Rams and Packers are really noisy teams and perfectly profile to me as the type of teams you don’t want to see come into your building in January.
race to the bottom
How bad is the bottom of the NFL this year? So bad, it could be great. A thrilling final few weeks await, with multiple teams chasing the No. 1 overall pick, and the final seconds of Week 18 could be the deciding factor for the NFL.
There are currently eight teams with three or more losses in a row. The Giants and Raiders, who sit at the bottom of the standings and will face Las Vegas on Monday night, have both lost nine straight. This isn’t great news for the team’s coaching staff or front office, but it does give them a chance to land a franchise quarterback high in this draft.
The Bears (pending “MNF”) are on a seven-game losing streak, second-worst in the league, but if they stumble and win their remaining games, they could at least get a top pick at 4-9. There is a possibility that there will be an uproar. method.
The Patriots, Panthers, and Falcons (also on the “MNF” hold) all lost four straight. The Panthers were playing very well until Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys in Charlotte, but they still managed to find a way to lose. This isn’t the worst thing in the world for Carolina, a team in desperate need of players who can make a difference on both sides of the ball.
The Browns and Titans have both lost three in a row, Tennessee benched Will Levis on Sunday, and Cleveland’s Jameis Winston Experience is starting to wear off a little. Both teams love to find ways to lose this year, and three wins will put them squarely in contention for first place. According to Tankasson, each team’s strength of schedule is above .500, tied with the trailing Giants and Raiders at the top of the standings.
The Jaguars are looking to redeem themselves against the Jets and become the first team in the modern draft era to have the No. 1 pick in three out of five years. It only makes the potential job offer even more attractive.
We don’t have Caleb Williams or Jayden Daniels for the award this year, but Cam Ward is an interesting candidate, as is Shedare Sanders. And Travis Hunter is a really interesting prize given his ability to play on both sides of the ball.
The 2025 NFL Draft could be tough. The race to the top certainly does.
