The title once belonged to Lamar Jackson, but Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is arguably the best quarterback in the league.
And it’s really not even close.
Allen leads all quarterbacks with 240 rushing yards and leads the NFL with eight touchdowns this season. Extrapolate that over 17 games and that’s 680 rushing yards and 22 (!) rushing touchdowns. The first would be his most in a season since 2022, and the second would be a career high.
Last year, Allen and the Bills made a concerted effort not to use him as much as a trigger. However, Allen still finished with 579 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns before rushing for 99 yards and two scores in two playoff games, including a four-carry effort in a loss to the Denver Broncos.
New Buffalo coach Joe Brady seems to have re-ignited Allen by freeing him up more as a runner. The obvious concern is that Allen suffered a significant injury in the crash. But as he’s gotten older, Allen has gotten better at protecting himself when running the football.
Josh Allen leads the league in rushing this season. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Allen won a close contest two years ago with Jackson in which I thought he deserved the award. In that season, Allen did an excellent job of taking care of the football, with just six interceptions. This season, Allen already has five turnovers in six games.
If Allen wants to take home his second MVP trophy and potentially bring home Buffalo’s first Super Bowl in franchise history, he needs to balance making the top rusher play with care of the football in critical moments of the game.
With the NFL schedule heading toward the middle of the year, here’s a snapshot of where I think things stand for the top contenders at each major award.
Offensive Player of the Year
The weak: Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads the NFL with 17 100-yard games since 2024. His 331 receptions and 4,268 yards are the most in the first four seasons by a player in Seattle Seahawks history.
Bijan Robinson remains the engine of Atlanta’s offense, leading the league with 785. However, he hasn’t been as dominant as Kenneth Walker III. The reigning Super Bowl MVP has been one of the most elusive running backs this season. Walker has forced a league-leading 47 fumbles, according to Next Generation Stats. Since entering the league as a second-round draft pick of the Seattle Seahawks, Walker has forced 280 missed tackles, ranking second in the NFL behind Derrick Henry (347) as he has proven to be a valuable pickup for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Jahmyr Gibbs just missed the cut this season, but the Detroit Lions star remains in contention this season. He already has 105 goals in five games, and is on pace to carry the ball a career-high 357 times. Biggest runs for Gibbs in a season? That would be 250 times in 2024.
Defensive Player of the Year
The weak: The Texans looked better last week, but are still 2-4 on the year. Still, Will Anderson leads the league with 7.5 sacks and, like Myles Garrett last season, the Alabama product is a dominant player on a bad team (for now).
Dallas Turner has been the best defensive player with the best statistical performance in the NFL on the Vikings. Turner is tied for third in the league in sacks (5.5) and has two forced fumbles. Minnesota leads the league in points allowed (12.8 points per game), is tied for second in turnovers (10) and fifth in turnovers (17).
Fred Warner has filled the stat sheet. He is third in the league in tackles with 58, has three forced fumbles and three pass breakups for an unbeaten 49ers.
Coach of the Year
The weak: Kyle Shanahan once again proves he’s one of the best in the business managing one of the most injury-plagued rosters in the NFL. Shanahan consistently does more with less talent and will continue to do wonders due to injuries at receiver for San Francisco.
Kevin O’Connell is happy to have the best defensive coordinator in the league in Brian Flores, but Kyler Murray is starting to show flashes of the best connection with Minnesota’s offensive players.
Nobody expected Todd Monken to have the Browns atop the AFC North at this point in the season, and he’s proven the doubters around the league wrong so far.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
The weak: Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels has played the most of any starting quarterback, and the Buccaneers have a 1-2 record with him as the starter, filling in for an injured Baker Mayfield. Still, Daniels has five interceptions. At some point, Fernando Mendoza could make some noise as the Las Vegas Raiders make him the starter. Jeremiah Love leads all rookies with 245 rushing yards, but has had trouble staying on the field due to injury.
As for players currently in the running, Carnell Tate leads all rookies with 29 receptions and appears more comfortable in Tennessee’s offense, building better chemistry with Cam Ward. But Denzel Boston has made more impact plays (three touchdowns) for a better team in Cleveland. Germie Bernard finished with 11 receptions for 87 yards and a score in a Pittsburgh win over Tampa Bay, proving to be a steady pass rusher for Aaron Rodgers.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
The weak: Jacob Rodriguez leads all rookies with 57 combined tackles. David Bailey leads rookies in sacks (5) and quarterback pressures (29). Mass still leads all rookies in interceptions (3) and is third in pass breakups (6). Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs also deserve some shine here and have made impact plays over the course of the season.
MVP
The underdog: Brock Purdy, the “game manager,” is tied for first with 14 passing yards and is second in the league with a 118.1 passer rating this season. Purdy has 27 career games with a passer rating of at least 110, behind only Russell Wilson (34 games) and Patrick Mahomes (31) for more by a player in his first five seasons in NFL history.
Mahomes has been much better this year, but Walker has been the most important person on offense for the Chiefs this season, which is why he is second on this list. However, Allen comes in for one of the top two spots. He had some spectacular highs and some frankly embarrassing games this season as well, so we need to see more consistent snap plays, which Allen is certainly capable of producing.
