The MVP race is truly wide open below the most obvious candidate, and it will be interesting to see if the MVP favorite can keep this pace up for most of the rest of the season. There are a few other relatively-logical candidates as well, but not many overall.
One reason for this is the amount of parity present in the NFL this year - I am not sure it's been higher here in this era of football. So many different teams have an argument to win the Super Bowl this year, and the playoff races are, at best, muddied and unclear.
As we have done, let's get into our updated MVP power rankings after Week 12 action.
Matthew Stafford still atop of our NFL MVP Power Rankings
4. Jordan Love, QB, Green Bay Packers
Jordan Love has had a great season for the Green Bay Packers this year, and the Packers are 7-3-1 on the season and still in a good spot to steal the NFC North lead back from the Chicago Bears at some point. Love has thrown for 15 touchdowns against just three interceptions this year for a stellar 102 passer rating.
He has not thrown an interception since November 2nd and has taken great care of the football this year, more so than any other year of his NFL career. His completion percentage of 67.7% would also stand to be the highest of his career up to this point.
In the offseason, the Packers made a bold move to trade for Micah Parsons, and it was almost an indicator that they had hoped to put the NFC on notice this year. While Green Bay has done that to a degree, it still feels like they have more in them.
Jordan Love might have to take a bigger role here and really carry his team down the stretch if he wants to win the NFC North and also win the MVP this year.
3. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts
An overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs doesn't really change much for me with Jonathan Taylor, who has had an incredible season at this point. However, the Colts are seeing the Jaguars and Texans creep up, as the Jags are now just one game behind Indy, and the Texans are two and riding a surge here in the middle of the season.
If Indy wants to get back on the right track, they will have to continue riding with Taylor, who is on pace for one of the more prolific seasons we've seen from a running back in quite some time. Taylor still leads in yards, touchdowns, yards per game, total touchdowns, and scrimmage yards, so this one game does not define his season.
2. Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots
The New England Patriots did not make it easy, but a win is a win, and the Pats become the first team in the NFL to 10 wins this year. For the time being, they are in first-place in the AFC and would have the bye and homefield advantage if the standings held. Drake Maye has played out of his mind this year and might already be a top-5 QB in the NFL.
The Pats do just about everything right, and we simply can't knock Maye down this list because of the Patriots' soft schedule, as they are taking care of business and are in a great spot to make a deep run this year.
1. Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams
Matthew Stafford has thrown 30 touchdown passes this year. He's also thrown just two interceptions.
TWO!
Stafford is having the best year of his career, by far, and it's hard to see how he does not win the MVP if he can keep this up. The LA Rams blew out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football and move to 9-2 on the season. They are first in the NFC West and now first in the NFC with the Eagles losing to the Cowboys.
The Rams are surely the favorites to win the Super Bowl this year as well, and Matthew Stafford's brilliance can carry the team there for the second time since 2021.