NFL Power Rankings: Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley make their case for MVP

How often do we have a Week 13 NFL game featuring 4 real MVP candidates? Not often, if you really weren't sure. But Sunday's showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens has just that, as Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry all have a shot at NFL MVP... with varying degrees of realism, sure, but none of them are out of the running.

After a bit of a slog on Sunday afternoon, the candidates woke up a little bit, making the matchup fun in the end. How did each of them fare, and who holds the edge in the MVP race among the four guys from this game with real shots at the award?

1. Saquon Barkley

There is something wrong with this guy. Like, in a good way. You can keep him down for long enough that you think you've completely shut him out of a game, and then all of a sudden you're chasing him into the endzone. Barkley finished with 23 carries for 107 yards and a touchdown.

And this was his worst game in a while. Barkley finishing with great numbers despite struggling a lot of the night is a testament to how unstoppable he really is. A running back winning MVP seems less crazy each week Barkley does something inhuman.

Coming into this game, Barkley was averaging over 6 yards per carry, and that number will dip a little bit after a measly (for him, of course) 4.7 yards per attempt. But he's the most important part of an elite offense on the best team in football right now. That's what an MVP does

2. Lamar Jackson

No, it wasn't Lamar's most marvelous performance, but finishing with 237 yards, 2 touchdowns and zero interceptions is still a great line for most quarterbacks — which Jackson is not, obviously. He's much, much better. Now with 29 passing touchdowns, over 600 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns and just 3 interceptions, Jackson is — once again — putting up video game numbers for the Ravens.

Baltimore is now 8-5 after the loss, and if one thing will keep Lamar from his third MVP might be the Ravens record. They're still very good, of course. They might even be contenders in the AFC, but the season has been a little uneven, and the MVP award often goes to the quarterback of the hottest or most consistent team in football, which Baltimore hasn't quite been this year.

Still, Lamar is good enough that a "good" record from the Ravens might put him in the conversation. But the guys in Buffalo and Detroit have some good arguments, as well.

3. Derrick Henry

Running backs... are back. Well, they never really went anywhere, and the idea that running backs are replaceable never really made any sense, so it's cool to see running backs back en vogue. Saquon Barkley has been the talk of the town among running backs, but Derrick Henry has been nearly as good in his first season with the Ravnes.

Finishing with a "modest" 19 carries for 82 yards, Henry didn't break off a huge run in this game, but he's good enough (and big enough) to have a good night despite not ripping off a big run. He's not even that far behind Barkley in rushing yards this season.

Henry's odds for the MVP seem like a longshot, but a few monster games could put him right back in the conversation. And we know December Derrick Henry is more than capable of monster games.

4. Jalen Hurts

It hasn't been Hurts' most impressive statistical season in 2024, but he's the quarterback of the best team in the NFL, so the most important stat — wins— is looking pretty good for Hurts so far. But even the quarterback of an Super Bowl-winning team wouldn't win MVP if he never threw for over 300 yards in a game, and Hurts has yet to cross that threshold this year.

That's less on Hurts and more on the offensive system in Philadelphia — which is a run-first offense behind Barkley — so it's not like Hurts is struggling this year, his role is just a little smaller in an offense with a superstar in the backfield.