The MVP race is a good reminder that even at the halfway point of the season, there's still plenty of football to play.
At the start of the season, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was the clear front-runner to win the award. Since Week 3, the lead in the MVP power rankings has changed hands three times – and there are still nine more weeks to play.
The latest lead change comes this week, after a slate that featured more blowouts than close games from Thursday through Monday. Throughout Week 9, several players delivered performances that earned them spots higher on the MVP power rankings list. Several others performed poorly enough to drop down the rankings – if not fall out of the top 10 entirely.
affect Vikings, Jaguars, others?
As the season moves into its second half, there won't be any more honorable mentions in the MVP power rankings. The true contenders appear to have solidified their spots near the top, and one or two strong performances from an outsider down the stretch won't do much to really boost an MVP case in the back half of the season.
Here's how the MVP power rankings shake out before Week 10 kicks off the second half of the 2026 season (with previous ranks in parentheses):
NFL MVP power rankings Week 10
1. QB Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (2)
Burrow has surged up the MVP power rankings over the past few weeks with three straight performances with 4+ passing touchdowns before Week 9. The Bengals' quarterback fell short of seizing the top spot last week thanks to his three interceptions and near-loss against the Tennessee Titans.
The wait is over for Burrow as his recent showings have become impossible to ignore ahead of Week 10. During the Bengals' matchup with the Falcons in Madrid, the former No. 1 overall pick continued his stretch of excellence. In addition to setting a new season high with his 82.8% completion rate, Burrow also threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown for a second straight game, meaning he's been responsible for 10 touchdowns in the last two weeks alone.
2. QB Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (1)
For the second time this year, Allen has been displaced as the leader in the MVP race. Burrow has looked unstoppable during his surge to the top. The Bills' quarterback, meanwhile, has struggled a bit over the last couple of weeks.
Allen's Week 8 performance started 8-for-19 (42% completion rate) with 112 yards and an interception, but he managed to turn things around in the second half and lead his team to a win. Week 9 was a similar story – Allen and the Bills' offense were unable to get going early against a dominant Vikings defense.
Eventually, in part thanks to poor quarterback play on the other side, Buffalo ground Minnesota down. Allen finished with 234 passing yards, one touchdown and an interception. He rushed for 15 yards. His yardage total in the air and on the ground both ranked in the bottom three of his year so far, which was enough to drop him out of the top spot.
3. QB Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (4)
Purdy and the 49ers lost for the first time this season in Week 7 before their Week 8 bye. In a return to action against the Raiders last week, Purdy was excellent. He finished 17-of-25 for 232 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed seven times for 40 yards and another score on the ground.
The best argument for Purdy's MVP hopes is his consistency. He's thrown for more than 200 yards in all but one game; he's kept his completion rate above 63% in all but one game – the same outing that featured 297 yards and four touchdowns – and he's thrown at least one touchdown in every game, including multiple touchdowns in all but two. Oh yeah, and the 49ers are at the top of the NFC as the only one-loss team left in the conference.
4. QB Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (3)
Lawrence did not do much to shine in the box score in a wet Thursday night game against the Ravens. Jacksonville's scoring drives more frequently ended in field goals than touchdowns despite its defense generating three turnovers in prime time. Even with middling offensive output, Lawrence finished with 242 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers.
The Jaguars' starter is still among MVP favorites because he steps up every time he's asked. Lawrence has made just 224 pass attempts in eight games, which is fewer than any quarterback who has played in at least that many. He's also tied for fourth-most touchdown passes (18) and after Week 9 is tied for the NFL lead in yards per attempt (8.6) and is the league's sole leader in yards per completion (13.2).
5. QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (6)
Good teams and quarterbacks are supposed to beat up on bad teams and defenses. The Chiefs and Mahomes did that in Week 9, getting back in the win column against the Jets.
Mahomes finished 23-of-31 for 242 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He did lose a fumble on a sack that also appeared to injure his throwing arm, but he remained in the game without missing any time.
The two-time MVP is still in the running for a third, though he's looked like a less likely candidate since field-stretcher Tyquan Thornton's ankle injury. Perhaps the Chiefs' addition of Josh Downs at the trade deadline will help Mahomes get the deep ball going again as he had earlier in the season.
6. QB Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears (5)
Through one quarter of action on "Sunday Night Football" in Week 9, Williams appeared to be in position to seize the top spot on the MVP power rankings. He was 4-of-5 for 26 yards and a touchdown after the Bears' opening 10-play drive and he added 11 rushing yards. By the end of Chicago's second drive, Williams was 6-of-8 for 105 yards and two touchdowns.
From the second quarter on, Williams threw four interceptions. His confidence decreased and his throws became less accurate. After the first quarter, he was 16-of-29 on pass attempts, throwing for 174 more yards and no more touchdowns.
The first quarter – and most of Williams' prior performances this season – proved why the Bears' third-year quarterback deserved to be in the MVP conversation early on. The fact that he managed to help Chicago come away with a win on a dismal night personally counts for something too. But Williams has to avoid more meltdowns if he wants to secure this year's MVP.
7. QB Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers (Honorable Mention)
No Josh Jacobs, no problem? If Love keeps playing the way he did against the Patriots, that may be the case. Green Bay struggled to run the ball at the start of the season with Jacobs on the commissioner's exempt list, and his performances upon his return emphasized that the offensive line was the real problem. Meanwhile, Love has kept the Packers' offense afloat.
Against the Patriots in Week 9, Love was 23-of-29 for 372 yards and three touchdowns. Betting odds for the Packers' quarterback to win MVP have skyrocketed in the aftermath. Even as Jacobs is set to miss time with his finger injury, Green Bay has no reason to panic with its quarterback navigating choppy waters with aplomb.
8. QB Drake Maye, New England Patriots (7)
It was a weird week for Maye. There was some good – 299 yards and three touchdowns – but also a lot of bad – a season-low 55.3% completion rate, a season-high four sacks taken, three interceptions after throwing only one in the previous four weeks combined.
Last year's MVP runner-up has had a very back-and-forth first half of the 2026 season. His lack of consistency makes him a long shot to actually win the award this year. Still, there have been flashes of excellence – like his 374-yard, four-touchdown outing against the Raiders – that provide intrigue.
9. RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions (8)
Gibbs did not have an especially good outing in Week 9. His 74 rushing yards and 3.7 yards per attempt against the Dolphins were both his third-worst marks this year. The running back did score a touchdown, but he didn't catch any passes.
However, Gibbs still leads the NFL with 1,132 scrimmage yards and is tied for the league lead with 11 scrimmage touchdowns. Falcons running back Bijan Robinson is just two yards behind Gibbs, but he's played in one more game than the Lions' back. After Jaxon Smith-Njigba's relatively unimpressive Week 9, Gibbs is still firmly in the running for Offensive Player of the Year, even if he's not among the top names in the MVP conversation.
10. QB Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (9)
Like his running back, Goff also had a middling outing in Miami. After six straight games without an interception to start the season, he has now thrown one in back-to-back outings. His 170 passing yards against the Dolphins were a season low. He did not throw a touchdown for the first time this season.
As with some others higher up in the power rankings, Goff's MVP candidacy now is being carried by stronger performances earlier in the season – just a couple of weeks ago he threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns against Green Bay. But a third straight dud in Week 10 could drop him off of next week's list.
NFL MVP odds
Here's how betting odds for the NFL MVP award look through nine weeks of the 2026 season, according to DraftKings Sportsbook as of Nov. 10.
- QB Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals: +210
- QB Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills: +240
- QB Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers: +425
- QB Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers: +650
- QB Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars: +900
- QB Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears: +1600
- QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs: +3000
- QB Jared Goff, Detroit Lions: +4500
- QB Drake Maye, New England Patriots: +4500
- RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions: +5500
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL MVP power rankings Week 10 as a new favorite takes over race
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