Who are the leading NFL MVP candidates halfway through the season?

It’s hard to believe, but the NFL regular season is halfway in the books. While it might feel like the sample size is still relatively small, this is as good a time as any to take a pause and see who the frontrunners are for NFL MVP in 2024. All statistics are sourced from Football Reference.

DraftKings has Jackson as the MVP favorite at this point in the season. It’s an interesting position he finds himself in, as some thought he might not be as strong of a possibility due to the outstanding production of Baltimore running back Derrick Henry. With that said, Jackson has been as lethal as ever in his seventh season.

USA Today believes that Jackson is starting to put his season into high gear. They wrote that he is separating himself from other MVP contenders. Henry said about his teammate, “If you want to take away him running the ball, he’ll go over your head and throw it. If he has to run it, he’ll do that as well. Hats off to him. He’s an engine that makes things go.”

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If Jackson were to win MVP this year, he would become just the seventh player in NFL history to win the award three times, according to Sporting News. The other six players are Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Jim Brown and Johnny Unitas. Needless to say, the achievement would put him in rarified air.

Through nine games, Allen has thrown for 17 touchdowns and just two interceptions. It’s a ratio that’s worth calling out, especially from the standpoint of how he’s been able to minimize the turnovers in 2024. The fewest number of picks the Bills passer has ever thrown in a season is nine, so Allen has a great shot of setting a career mark in that area this season.

Much was made of the talent Allen and the Bills lost during the offseason at wide receiver. Buffalo traded Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans, and elected to let Gabe Davis walk in free agency. There was concern that Allen would not have the same caliber of players to throw the football to, but simply put, it hasn’t mattered one bit.

Thanks to Allen’s great play this season, the Bills have raced out to a 7-2 record, and an extremely comfortable lead in the AFC East. While Jackson and other MVP candidates might be penalized for playing with other elite offensive players, it can be said that Allen is putting this special season together all on his own. That helps his MVP case tremendously.

The narrative surrounding Mahomes this season is that he isn’t playing as well as he has in previous years. USA Today wrote a column asking what’s wrong with the Chiefs quarterback, and others have jumped in on that discussion as well. Even if Mahomes isn’t putting up the same type of statistics we’re used to seeing, he’s still very much in the MVP discussion.

In the eyes of many, Mahomes is the best player in the NFL, even if his numbers don’t show it this year. The three-time Super Bowl champion and three-time Super Bowl MVP has a resume that will go down in NFL history as one of the best. In some ways, Mahomes is automatically included in the MVP race because of the body of work he’s already established.

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We’ll see if Mahomes can light things up during the second half of the season, but as long as he doesn’t make any significant blunders, he should remain relevant in the MVP discussion. His best case might involve keeping Kansas City in the driver’s seat for the NFL’s best record. If the Chiefs finish 14-3, 15-2, or even better, it’ll be hard to dispel Mahomes’ case.

Speaking of great records, the Lions have continued their stellar play into the 2024 season, and look to be on the short list of teams that can win the Super Bowl this season. While there are a lot of reasons why Detroit is so good, Goff has reached a new level of success that deserves more attention.

The Guardian wrote, “Rain, doubt or pressure, none of it matters to the naggingly brilliant Jared Goff.” Much was made about the Lions playing their first game outdoors in Week 9, in inclement weather conditions in Green Bay against the Packers. Goff wasn’t fazed by the atmosphere whatsoever.

According to NextGen stats, Goff has not thrown an incompletion to star wideout Amon-Ra’ St. Brown in 30 straight pass attempts. There are other ways to spin his remarkable completion rate as well, as he has been over the 80 percent mark in his last three games. The only knock against Goff might be that he hasn’t thrown the ball that much, partly because he hasn’t needed to.

Daniels seems like a lock to get at least one major award at the end of the NFL season. He’s the odds-on favorite to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and unless there’s a massive collapse in the second half, Daniels can already start to pick out a place in his home for the trophy. There’s a chance he can double-dip with an MVP award, as well.

The Commanders have been a talented team for a few years, but were missing a couple of key components at the most important areas. Washington hired Dan Quinn as head coach, and gave the keys of the offense to Daniels, and both decisions have paid off bigtime. The culture shift that Daniels has helped usher in is a huge reason why he is a legitimate MVP candidate.

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Washington finds themselves at a surprising 7-2 through nine games. If they’re able to win the NFC East, Daniels’ case will only get stronger. Additionally, it helps him that one of the most exciting plays of the NFL season involved him. His Hail Mary in Week 8 to win the game is already one of the most replayed sequences of the year.