Allen passes Mahomes as MVP favorite
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Josh Allen jumped Patrick Mahomes as the MVP favorite after throwing for 263 yards and four touchdowns on Monday Night Football as the Bills decimated the Jaguars 47-10.
The Chiefs superstar started the season as the favorite while Allen trailed with the second-best odds. That flipped overnight: Allen became a +225 favorite with Mahomes slightly behind at +260.
Allen leads the NFL in passer rating and total quarterback rating and sits second in completion percentage.
Two questions surrounded Allen and the Bills' offense entering the season: Who could Allen trust at receiver after Stefon Diggs' departure, and would his reckless decision-making cost the team?
So far, Diggs' absence hasn't impacted the offense. Allen is one of the few talents who can throw receivers open. He delivers precision passes from the pocket, consistently making the receiver's job easy. The seven-year vet has distributed the ball evenly among his receivers, tight ends, and running backs. Wideout Khalil Shakir has a team-leading 14 receptions and running back James Cook has the second most with eight catches.
As for the other question, Allen leads the NFL in touchdown-to-interception ratio. He's thrown seven touchdowns and has yet to throw a pick. Allen was intercepted 18 times last season, second to only Sam Howell for the Commanders. Allen's decision-making has improved through three games while he's remained willing to throw downfield.
The Bills are 3-0 and have the third-best odds to win the Super Bowl (+800) behind the Chiefs and 49ers. As poor quarterback play permeates the league, the Bills have one of the NFL's best at the position. Buffalo leads the NFL with 37.3 points per game.
Allen was an MVP finalist during the 2020, 2022, and 2023 seasons but has never won. There's a long way to go before that race is decided, but Allen will undoubtedly be in the conversation again.
Beyond Mahomes and Allen, C.J. Stroud (+1300), Jalen Hurts (+1600), and Aaron Rodgers (+1800) round out the contenders at much longer odds.
Mahomes has been Allen's playoff kryptonite - the Chiefs ended the Bills' season in the playoffs in three of the last four years. But Allen could close the gap on the league's undisputed best player with an MVP trophy.
Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X @soshtry for more betting coverage.