2. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Burrow is insane. He leads the league in completions, attempts, yards, and touchdowns. He's got 3,977 yards and 36 touchdown passes on the season through just 14 games.
It would not be crazy to see Burrow hit the 50-touchdown mark. That would take 14 TD passes over his final three games, which is a lot, but if the Cincinnati Bengals are falling behind in their remaining games and need Burrow to again carry the team, he could hit that mark.
It's very likely that Burrow ends the year leading the league in those eye-popping stats like passing yards and touchdowns. Even if the Bengals defense was average, Cincy would probably be 10-4 and in the driver's seat to make the playoffs. It would take a miracle for this team to make the postseason in 2024, so this insane QB year could be all for nothing.
1. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
I struggle to find a QB who has played better than Lamar Jackson this year, and Jackson is a great example of why the MVP award may be flawed. We know it's a QB award at this point, and with the Baltimore Ravens being just 9-5, it just does not feel likely at this point that Jackson wins the award unless the Ravens win-out and the Buffalo Bills collapse.
It's an odd dynamic to work through, but Jackson has undoubtedly been the best QB in football this year, period. Heck, he's having one of the most efficient seasons of any QB in NFL history. He's got 34 touchdowns on the year with just three interceptions.
He's also going to finally have a 4,000-yard passing season and is completing 68.1% of his passes. This is one of those vintage Aaron Rodgers-MVP type of years. The Ravens being 9-5 is what is holding Jackson back, as odd as that sounds, and he can thank the bad passing defense for that.
I was originally thinking that Josh Allen was the slam-dunk pick for the MVP this year, but even as I type this blurb out, I may be switching over to Lamar Jackson. He is simply marvelous. This could be an all-time QB season.