Morning Coffee: Allen, Mahomes now co-favourites to win NFL MVP

The Buffalo Bills offence was expected to encounter some challenges during its transition to new playmakers and with a new full-time offensive coordinator this season.

Instead, their offence has exceeded even the most optimistic projections as the Bills have performed at an elite level while stringing together three straight wins.

It certainly helps that Buffalo has an MVP-calibre QB.

It also helps that the Bills have played a very manageable schedule that has featured wins over the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins, and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Still, it’s worth noting that Buffalo hasn’t been favoured by more than a touchdown in any of those victories.

It’s also impossible for me to forget that less than 24 hours ago I was getting messages on social media urging me to take the points with the Jaguars on Monday Night Football.

And it’s important to remember that NFL favourites of 5.5 points or more are a combined 6-10 straight up and 2-14 against the spread this season.

In a year in which so many NFL offences have stumbled out of the gate with poor fundamentals, awful execution, and a severe lack of consistency, the Bills have looked dominant so far.

After an offseason full of analysis warning about a potential early-season adjustment period, they’ve come flying out of the gates with a league-high 37.3 points per game.

Regardless of whether they have benefited from a favourable schedule, there’s only one team in the league with shorter odds to win the Super Bowl than Buffalo.

Meanwhile, nobody has shorter odds to win NFL regular season MVP at FanDuel than the Bills franchise QB.

This is the Morning Coffee for Tuesday September 24th, 2024.

Allen, Mahomes Now Co-Favourites To Win NFL MVP

Josh Allen entered last night’s game against Jacksonville sitting at +470 as the second choice to win NFL regular season MVP at FanDuel.

After another elite performance, Allen and Patrick Mahomes are now co-favourites to win MVP at +250.

Allen went 23-of-30 for 263 yards and four touchdown passes in last night’s 47-10 win over the Jaguars.

All four of his touchdown passes came in the first half.

He also ran for a team-high 44 yards on six carries.

It’s the 29th time that Allen has led Buffalo in both passing and rushing yards in a game, tying Michael Vick for the fourth-most such games in NFL history.

The 28-year-old QB has completed 75 per cent of his passes for 634 yards with seven touchdown passes and zero interceptions over three consecutive wins.

He’s also added 85 rushing yards and two rushing scores.

Allen and the Bills didn’t decide who they would play the first three weeks of the season, but they did do everything needed to do to hang 31 or more points on all three of their opponents.

It’s the fifth time in franchise history that Buffalo has scored at least 30 points in each of the first three games of a season. 

The club’s 112 points is tied for the second-most through three games in franchise history.

The fans at Highmark Stadium had a lot to celebrate last night.

Allen officially passed the legendary Jim Kelly for the most games with at least four touchdown passes in franchise history.

Leading the NFL with a 92.6 QBR while guiding one of five remaining undefeated teams in the league makes for a compelling early case for Allen as the MVP favourite.

While we can’t take anything away from Allen’s performance through the first three weeks, we can expect the schedule to get a lot tougher moving forward.

Buffalo will travel for three consecutive road games against AFC opponents in the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, and the New York Jets.

I’m really looking forward to seeing how this Bills’ offence performs over the next three weeks as the schedule gets a lot more difficult.

Allen and Mahomes are co-favourites to win MVP this morning.

They’ll go head-to-head when they meet in Buffalo on Sunday November 17th.

Circle your calendars if you haven’t already.

A lot can change between now and the end of the season.

Regardless of what happens next, Allen has undoubtedly earned a nod as the league’s most valuable player through the first three weeks with a brilliant start.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s Allen and Mahomes and then everybody else in terms of talent at the QB position.

FanDuel’s updated odds to win NFL regular season MVP reflect that sentiment.