Bills Quarterback Josh Allen is New Favorite for NFL MVP

Here is a sentence that you don’t hear too often. The Buffalo Bills are the new favorites to win the Super Bowl at +450.

Something that might be less surprising to hear is that their quarterback, Josh Allen, is now the favorite to win the NFL MVP award at the end of this season. 

Allen is coming off a win over the Miami Dolphins where he threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. That game brought his season stats to 1,972 yards passing (11th), 17 touchdowns (5th), and just three interceptions (4th). And while it wasn't a lights-out performance, he led his team to a win. Something that many others on the MVP list failed to do in Week 8.

After last week’s win over Miami, Allen overtook both Kyler Murray and Dak Prescott and is now alone at the top of the list. As of Tuesday morning, here are the current NFL MVP odds courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook. 

• Josh Allen +300
• Kyler Murray +450
• Matthew Stafford +600
• Dak Prescott +600
• Tom Brady +600

The NFL MVP Race is Still Up For Grabs

One thing jumps out at me when looking over these futures. The MVP race is wide open as we get into the second half of the NFL season.

Last week Murray was the undisputed favorite with both Prescott and Allen +600 to win. Matthew Stafford has jumped in and out the mix as well. Based on his odds, he too remains a strong contender for the MVP if he keeps winning games for the Rams who shored up their defense Monday with the trade for Von Miller.

Kyler Murray, on the other hand, saw his odds drop and there could be more of that coming. Murray’s chances to hoist the hardware this season took a big step back after last week’s game against the Packers. Not only did Murray play his worst game maybe ever, and messed up my fantasy football season, he also injured his ankle. He could miss a few weeks and that would essentially end his MVP run. 

To be frank, all of these candidates are worthy of a look and a pick as things stand. Allen has done enough to sit atop the mountain, but not quite enough to separate himself from the pack. His stats are not where some of his peers on this list are, but his team is the favorite to win the Super Bowl and that has a lot to do with MVP voting. The best player in the league would likely be overlooked if he were on the worst team. 

The Bills have two cupcake games to look forward to, against the Jaguars and Jets, so it is safe to assume Allen will have two more very strong games. Therefore, if you want to make a play on Allen, I think now is the time. Barring some dramatic occurrence, he and Bills should cruise over the next two weeks and his odds will become less valuable.