The MVP race has largely been a two-car race in 2025. While the likes of Baker Mayfield and Jonathan Taylor led a few laps, Matthew Stafford and Drake Maye have pulled away from the rest of the pack.
At least until after Week 14.
With his flawless performance against the Cincinnati Bengals in a comeback win, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has emerged like The Undertaker ahead of WrestleMania to defend the award he won a year ago.
Allen went 22-of-28 for 251 yards and three touchdowns while adding 78 yards and a touchdown on the ground in Buffalo's 39-34 win over Cincinnati. His 139.7 passer rating was the fifth-highest of his career, and he posted an EPA of 25 - good for an EPA per play of 0.62 - per RBSDM Stats. For reference, Jordan Love leads the NFL in EPA per play for the season with a 0.303. Allen more than doubled that in the win over the Bengals.
After 13 games, Allen currently has 34 total touchdowns (22 passing, 12 rushing). This marks the third time in his career in which he has thrown for 20+ touchdowns and ran for 10+ touchdowns, making him the first quarterback in history to do so three times. He's also broken the NFL's all-time record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback this season, a record he continues to build upon by the week.
And while both Maye and Stafford are deserving of the MVP chatter, as well as being No. 1 and No. 2 in whatever order you want to put them in to this point, Allen has closed the gap and made this a three-car race. Especially when you consider the utter lack of talent he has at his disposal. While Stafford his throwing to All-World receivers Davante Adams and Puka Nacua, Allen's leading receiver on Sunday was No. 2 tight end Dawson Knox. His top producer from the wide receiver position was Gabe Davis, who was called up from the practice squad just under a month ago.
On top of that, the Bills' defense has allowed the seventh-most touchdowns in the NFL this season and are allowing the fifth-most rushing yards per game. What Allen is doing with sub-par weapons, and a questionable defense at best, is nothing short of incredible and further proving that he is the best dual-threat quarterback of all time. And while the nose of his car currently trails both Maye and Stafford, he may be able to catch them on the final turn if his play is anywhere near the level it was on Sunday.