Each 2021 NFL team has officially played 5 games, and it’s been exciting so far. It’s still early, but it’s never too early to crown the best player. So let’s do it! I have this overwhelming intuition that these four quarterbacks are the leading candidates for league MVP. Tom Brady, Dak Prescott, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson are separating themselves from everyone else by delivering great wins, creating excitement, leading their teams to come from behind victories, and by being must see TV.
Josh Allen has 1,370 passing yards, 12 touchdowns (TDs), 2 interceptions (INTs), and a 62.3 completion percentage rate per game. He has dominated each of the four games the Buffalo Bills have won, and they have all been blowouts. But there are two things that keep him from being the MVP; he has really great receivers in Stefan Diggs and Dawson Knox, and he hasn’t had to face the stress and pressure of being down in a game and coming back to win.
Dak Prescott has 1,368 passing yards, 13 TDs, 3 INTs, and a 73.9% completion rate per game. He’s had a better season than Josh Allen with the higher completion rate, but not the MVP in this young season. This is because he’s had a complete defensive unit and blowout wins in 3 of their 4 wins. The other win was on the Los Angeles Rams home turf, and the Rams are really tough to beat in LA.
Tom Brady for the Tampa Bay Bucs has great numbers as well. He has 2,064 passing yards, 17 TDs, just 3 INTs, and an 81% completion percentage at 44 years old! He’s still playing at this high of a level at this age AND part of the defending Super Bowl champions. He’s an incredible leader and could be the MVP by the end of the year. But there are reasons why he’s not there yet. His offense is playing consistently well, and they haven’t been down big and made a comeback. They’ve been down and come back to win, but only had a two-point deficit. Also, their defense has had a few mental lapses at crucial times in games.
This brings me to Lamar Jackson for the Baltimore Ravens. He’s the MVP after these 5 vital games. He has the stats with 1,519 passing yards, 8 TDs, only 3 INTs, and a 61.5% completion percentage. In three of their four wins, they had to come from behind to win in the final moments. In all these wins, Lamar was the reason they won. Against the juggernaut Kansas City Chiefs, they were down 28-17 in the second half, and he led them to a comeback win.
This was also the first time Lamar had ever beat Kansas City. Then this past week, against the Indianapolis Colts they were down 22-3. But Lamar led them to a 31-25 overtime victory with 442 passing yards, 62 rushing yards, and 4 TDs. None of these other QBs have had to do this so far, and I don’t think any of them could’ve made it through. Lamar also is a great runner. So this makes him LAMARVELOUS and the MVP after 5 games.
Article by: Chris Steele, iHearts143Quotes Team member
