10’s Takes: Josh Allen is the MVP favorite, but there’s plenty of ball left to play

With the Bills coming off another big win and still sitting two games back of the one seed, this week’s edition of 10’s Takes is all about the MVP race.

Now, the MVP race is pretty much down to three names: Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, and, of course, Josh Allen.

And according to betting lines, Allen seems like the heavy favorite, with an implied probability of 90 percent (at -900 odds) that the Bills quarterback wins his first MVP.

But, I’m here to tell you, this race is anything but finished.

This time last year, Brock Purdy was the betting odds favorite to win the NFL MVP with Lamar Jackson, the eventual winner at a little under around 20 percent implied odds.

And then Brock Purdy threw four interceptions against the Ravens on Christmas day and all the momentum swung back to Lamar.

And if you go back and look at their total season boxscore numbers, they’re relatively comparable and they each earned the one seed in their respective conference. (Purdy: 33 touchdowns, 13 turnovers | Jackson: 29 touchdowns, 13 turnovers).

My point here is, the MVP is won, winning big games late in the season like Lamar did last year and of course, winning in general.

Now Josh Allen’s stats this year compared to Lamar Jackson’s are almost identical, they both have 37 scores and Allen just one less turnover than Jackson. It’s just that Allen has won more games and played better more recently in said big games, with what many considered a lesser supporting cast.

All of these things matter in the case to win MVP. However with three weeks left in the regular season, and the most likely scenario being that the Bills do not earn the one seed, if Lamar can rally the Ravens to win the AFC North, I believe there will be real conversations about who takes home the MVP.

Josh Allen is the front-runner for MVP and if the season ended today, Josh Allen would be the MVP–the thing is, we have three weeks to play before everyone sets their sights on a Lombardi trophy.