NFL MVP tracker: Josh Allen steals the spotlight from Patrick Mahomes, Jaxson Dart stays hot

Week 9 of the 2025 NFL season flipped the awards race on its head.

The titanic showdown between Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes - two MVP frontrunners going into the weekend - ended with one clear winner.

Jaxson Dart strengthened his case for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award with a heroic, albeit losing, effort.

Meanwhile, Jaxon Smith-Njigba piled more pressure on Jonathan Taylor in the chase for Offensive Player of the Year, matching a record set by Hall of Fame legend Steve Largent.

Those show-stopping performances sent the award buzz into overdrive, igniting debate over MVP, OPOY, DPOY, and every other major honour up for grabs.

Here’s our weekly take on how the race for the NFL’s biggest individual prizes is shaping up heading into Week 10.

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Most Valuable Player (MVP)

1. Josh Allen, QB - Buffalo Bills
2. Drake Maye, QB - New England Patriots
3. Patrick Mahomes, QB - Kansas City Chiefs
4. Matthew Stafford, QB - Los Angeles Rams
5. Justin Herbert, QB - Los Angeles Chargers

The Chiefs vs. Bills clash wasn’t just a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship game; it might have been a preview of this year’s, too.

In one of the most anticipated games of 2025, Allen came out on top, leading Buffalo to a 28-21 win with a performance so surgical that it left viewers stunned.

The 29-year-old threw only one touchdown, but his accuracy was the real story after completing 88.6% of his passing attempts.

Mahomes, so often the hero of Kansas City’s recent resurgence, left frustrated after tossing an interception and posting a career-low 44.1% completion rate.

The contrast between the two couldn’t have been clearer. Mahomes not only lost his grip on the top spot but also slipped behind Maye, who wasn’t quite as electric as in recent weeks but still did enough to keep the Patriots’ incredible run alive.

Stafford remains in fourth but stays in the thick of the race after another Herculean effort, with four touchdowns, as the Los Angeles Rams dismantled the New Orleans Saints.

Herbert holds a slight edge over Jordan Love, Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones, and Baker Mayfield, but the gulf between that group and the leaders remains large.

Offensive Player of the Year (OPOY)

1. Jonathan Taylor, RB - Indianapolis Colts
2. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR - Seattle Seahawks
3. Christian McCaffrey, RB - San Francisco 49ers
4. Ja'Marr Chase, WR - Cincinnati Bengals
5. James Cook, RB - Buffalo Bills. Puka Nacua, WR - Los Angeles Rams

Taylor’s phenomenal start to the season keeps him in the lead, even after being limited to just 45 rushing yards and 3.2 yards per carry in the Indianapolis Colts’ surprise loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Smith-Njigba’s eight-catch, 129-yard outing turned up the heat on Taylor and widened the gap between himself and the rest of the league’s receiving yard leaders.

McCaffrey, Chase, Cook, and Nacua all excelled in Week 10, ensuring this race is still far from over.

Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY)

1. Myles Garrett, EDGE - Cleveland Browns
2. Micah Parsons, EDGE - Green Bay Packers
3. Aidan Hutchinson, EDGE - Detroit Lions
4. Brian Burns, EDGE - New York Giants
5. Will Anderson, EDGE - Houston Texans

Garrett and the Browns were on a bye, giving other DPOY contenders a chance to make their mark.

Hutchinson, Burns, and Anderson each recorded one sack, but none came close to Garrett’s five-star showcase last week or Parsons’ three-sack demolition in Week 7.

Nik Bonitto, who once held the top spot earlier in the season, drops out of the top five after a third straight quiet outing.

Jared Verse and Byron Young are agonisingly close to breaking into the lower order.

Offensive Rookie of the Year (OROY)

1. Jaxson Dart, QB - New York Giants
2. Emeka Egbuka, WR - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
3. Tyler Warren, TE - Indianapolis Colts
4. Tetairoa McMillan, WR - Carolina Panthers
5. Quinshon Judkins, RB - Cleveland Browns

The Giants fell to the San Francisco 49ers, but the scoreline would have been much wider without another impressive performance from Dart, who once again played well beyond his years.

The 22-year-old accounted for three total touchdowns, avoided turnovers, and completed 72.7% of his passes. He also led the team in rushing with 56 yards and added a touchdown on the ground.

Egbuka and Judkins were on bye weeks, while Warren and McMillan were kept relatively quiet, leaving the bottom of the rankings mostly unchanged.

Los Angeles Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden and Chicago Bears running back Kyle Monangai are both on fire, but as latecomers to the party, they remain outside the top five, for now.

Defensive Rookie of the Year (DROY)

1. Abdul Carter, EDGE - New York Giants
2. Nick Emmanwori, S - Seattle Seahawks
3. Jihaad Campbell, LB - Philadelphia Eagles
4. Carson Schwesinger, LB - Cleveland Browns
5. Malaki Starks, S - Baltimore Ravens

As mentioned last week, this remains one of the weakest position groups in years.

Carter’s fumble recovery keeps the impressive Emmanwori at bay for now, but the Giants’ edge rusher needs to start producing sacks to maintain his advantage.

Campbell and Schwesinger are both expected to continue sliding down the list - Campbell because he’s losing snaps to Nakobe Dean, and Schwesinger because he’s injured.

Starks’ first career interception earns him a spot in the group, and if he keeps making big plays, he could climb even higher.

Coach of the Year

1. Shane Steichen - Indianapolis Colts
2. Mike Vrabel - New England Patriots
3. Kyle Shanahan - San Francisco 49ers
4. Mike Macdonald - Seattle Seahawks
5. Sean McVay - Los Angeles Rams

Steichen’s Colts fell in Week 9, but one loss doesn’t change what he’s accomplished in Indianapolis this season.

Even so, the race tightened after Vrabel and Shanahan guided their teams to impressive weekend wins, with both continuing to defy the odds.

Macdonald and McVay round out the top five, but they’ll need major stumbles from Steichen or Vrabel to have a realistic shot at the award.

The Panthers' Dave Canales is ever so close to breaking into this group after helping his team become only the second team since 1970 to achieve a winning record despite being underdogs in every game.

Comeback Player of the Year

1. Dak Prescott, QB - Dallas Cowboys
2. Christian McCaffrey, RB - San Francisco 49ers
3. Aidan Hutchinson, EDGE - Detroit Lions
4. Daniel Jones, QB - New York Giants
5. Stefon Diggs, WR - New England Patriots

It’s the same group of five as last week, just shuffled slightly.

Prescott and McCaffrey remain neck and neck at the top, holding a comfortable lead over the chasing pack despite Hutchinson's big game.

Jones lost ground after his worst performance of the year.

Diggs trails a fair distance behind that leading pack.

Final thoughts

There’s still a lot of football left, and the next few weeks are loaded with statement games that could shake everything up.

These rankings won’t stay still for long, so keep checking back each week to see who’s climbing, who’s slipping, and how the award races are taking shape.