{"id":380336,"date":"2025-12-30T11:48:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T11:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/380336\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T11:48:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T11:48:11","slug":"nfl-mvp-cases-top-week-17-plays-from-5-leading-candidates-as-race-heats-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/380336\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL MVP Cases: Top Week 17 Plays From 5 Leading Candidates As Race Heats Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the NFL<\/a> regular season winding down, the intrigue surrounding the race to crown the 2025 NFL Most Valuable Player is hitting a fever pitch.<\/p>\n

The Week 17 slate was doubly important for all the top MVP candidates because of the playoff implications but also as one of the final chances to leave a lasting impression on voters.<\/p>\n

Drake Maye<\/a>, Trevor Lawrence<\/a>, Josh Allen<\/a> and Caleb Williams<\/a> took the field and found varying levels of success, which could impact their odds<\/a>. Matthew Stafford<\/a>, this year’s likely frontrunner, may raise some eyebrows heading into Week 18, however, after an off night in a spotlight game on Monday Night Football against the Atlanta Falcons<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As the playoff field officially takes shape, let’s take a look at the Week 17 performances of the five leading MVP candidates in what could be the last regular-season week with each in play:<\/p>\n

Rams<\/a> QB Matthew Stafford<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for Stafford, one of his more underwhelming games of the season came in a shocking 27-24 road loss to the Falcons in primetime. He nearly led a 21-point comeback after a scoreless first half but fell short en route to finishing the game 22-of-38 for 269 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions\u2014including one that was returned for a touchdown.<\/p>\n

Stafford had five picks coming into Monday night, and nearly matched that output against the 7-9 Falcons. Still, the 17-year pro, after logging his second Pro Bowl in the past three seasons, may be poised to take home his first MVP barring a late surge by another candidate (Maye anyone?).<\/p>\n

Don’t let the sizzle reel of dominance against the league’s worst team take away from the fact that Maye’s sophomore season has been sensational.<\/p>\n

On Sunday against the Jets<\/a> in a 42-10 road win, Maye absolutely obliterated New York, recording more touchdown passes than incompletions. His final stat line? 19-of-21 for 256 yards and a career-high five touchdowns, and three carries for 22 yards.<\/p>\n

If Maye doesn’t end up winning, you can rest assured the now two-time Pro Bowler should receive plenty of votes as the leader of one of the AFC’s top teams.<\/p>\n

Bears<\/a> QB Caleb Williams<\/p>\n

Williams has been on the money in December, and Sunday night was yet another shining example against the San Francisco 49ers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Bears<\/a> signal-caller nearly won it for his team at the end of a 42-38 shootout on a last-gasp pass that fell just short of a game-winning score. Williams finished the game 25-of-42 for a season-high 330 yards and two touchdowns, and five carries for 18 yards.<\/p>\n

Jaguars<\/a> QB Trevor Lawrence<\/p>\n

Lawrence’s recent tear didn’t continue on Sunday but the former No. 1 overall pick played well to lead Jacksonville to its seventh consecutive win.<\/p>\n

Lawrence completed 23 of 37 pass attempts for 263 yards and one interception, and added two rushing scores and 26 yards on eight carries. His standout effort in the 23-17 win, along with the defense allowing seven points in the second half, preserved the Jaguars<\/a>‘ shot at an AFC South title and the AFC’s No. 1 seed.<\/p>\n

Bills<\/a> QB Josh Allen<\/p>\n

A rainy matchup against the tough, reigning champion Eagles<\/a>‘ defense led to a day that didn’t boost Allen’s case for a repeat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 2024 MVP was held to 8-of-12 for 97 yards and three carries for 16 yards through the first half and the first drive of the third quarter as Buffalo trailed, 13-0. The veteran QB did pick it up as the game continued, but it wasn’t enough to get the job done as Buffalo failed on a two-point conversion after an Allen rushing score.<\/p>\n

He finished the 13-12 loss 23-of-35 for 262 yards, with seven carries for 27 yards and two touchdowns. Fortunately for Allen’s Bills<\/a>, the outcome won’t affect their playoff berth, but it will hand the division to the Pats for the first time since 2019, ending Buffalo’s 5-year streak of AFC East titles.<\/p>\n

Want great stories delivered right to your inbox?\u00a0Create or log in to your FOX Sports account<\/a>, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the NFL regular season winding down, the intrigue surrounding the race to crown the 2025 NFL Most…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380337,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,593,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-380336","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}