Will Baker Mayfield dethrone Josh Allen, win 2025 NFL MVP?
Yahoo Sports Daily hosts Caroline Fenton and Jason Fitz react to Baker Mayfield’s early MVP campaign and debate whether he will beat out Josh Allen for NFL MVP this season. Watch the full episode of Yahoo Sports Daily on YouTube or YahooSports.TV.
Video Transcript
The Bucks beat the 49ers.
They improve to 5-1.
They do it in a game where Emeka Ibuka goes down with a hamstring injury.
It doesn't matter who goes down.
It's like Baker Mayfield at this point could be thrown into anybody running down the sidelines.
He's just a dog, and it is just, it's hitting different, Caroline.
At this point, is it clear to you?
Is he the MVP front runner?
If the season ended today, Baker Mayfield would be league MVP.
It doesn't matter if Chris Godwin is out.
It doesn't matter if Tristan Worfs is out.
It doesn't matter if Mike Evans is dealing with a hamstring.
It doesn't matter if Emeka Ibuka is dealing with a hamstring.
It doesn't matter if Bucky Irving is out.
It doesn't matter, because Baker Mayfield finds a way.
I think you're right about everything you just said.
Can I give one caveat though?
I fear that we are normalizing the greatness of Josh Allen, not we, you and I necessarily, but we as a collective society.
Right now, if you look at Baker's Baker Mayfield's numbers, as impressive as they are, let me point out one game against the Jets.
14 to 25.
That was a 56% completion percentage, no touchdown, no picks, no rushing touchdowns.
I point that out because that's the worst game of the year for Josh Allen.
Every other game this season, he's had at least 70% completion.
Every other game this year, he's had multiple touchdowns in the year.
And also, so he's got 3 touchdowns on the ground.
Like when, when you talk about what your team would look like without you, which I think is a part of how we judge greatness, I, I, I don't believe that the Bills are any better than the Dolphins or the Patriots or the Jets even.
I may be a little better than the Jets if they don't have Josh Allen.
I think that what Josh Allen brings to the Buffalo Bills is so wildly dynamic and special.
It's a little bit like watching LeBron and saying, well, LeBron.
Can't just be the MVP every year.
Yeah, I can.
So while I think you're right that Baker is the MVP front runner, I think part of that is because it has looked so sexy throughout the course of having the big comebacks like, oh yeah, just everybody being captive, even if you're watching on Red Zone, you're captivated by every moment because they're showing you these two-minute drives over and over and over again.
So it's sexy.
It's got this, this hype to it.
It's got this energy to it.
There's comeback energy.
To it.
It's all from this electric personality that screams Baker and voters haven't been voting for Baker every single year, so it feels new, it feels fresh.
But at the same time, I'm just looking at Josh Allen and I'm saying, my God, you want to talk about my team is, is, is on my back every single week.
Like I have to be Superman.
It's Josh Allen.
You want to talk about my offense would be nothing without me.
It's Josh Allen.
You want to talk about, I'm only in the Super Bowl conversation because of my quarterback.
It's Josh Allen.
And I know it's, it's boring.
I just feel like in this conversation, sometimes we normalize the greatness we've gotten used to from Josh Allen.