Three players who have taken control of the NFL MVP race

The race to be the Most Valuable Player in the NFL has fallen to the shoulders of three players. Certainly, the season isn't over, and other guys can enter the conversation, but for now, these three men should be the favorites to win the MVP award.

3. Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen

When looking at the players who most deserve the MVP, it's hard to deny that Josh Allen should be in the running. He's eighth in passing yards and in passing touchdowns, and when looking at quarterbacks with three or more starts, second in completion percentage behind Drake Maye. 

He also has another 371 rushing yards and a whopping 10 rushing touchdowns, bringing his total to 28 TDs on the year. Yet, he's struggled as of late. In the last three games, he's 1-2 and with five passing touchdowns to five interceptions. 

In his first eight games, he had 13 touchdowns to just four interceptions, so he's clearly struggling a bit more than normal. Yet, it's hard to say he isn't a top MVP contender still, as he did have a massive six-touchdown game in Week 11. An impressive performance by any metric.

2. Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford

The elder statesmen of the NFL MVP race, Matthew Stafford, is having a career year with 2,830 yards, 30 touchdowns and only two interceptions on a whopping 66.5 completion percentage. It's hard to argue that Stafford isn't in the front running for the award. 

Beyond those stats, he's also leading the league in touchdowns, while also posting the highest rating among quarterbacks. Not only is he outperforming his prior seasons, but Stafford is also showing his value by having stellar numbers that rival any other elite quarterback. 

Like against the Jacksonville Jaguars, when he threw for five touchdowns. Only Jared Goff (five vs. Chicago) and Allen (six vs. Tampa Bay) have as many or more.

1. New England Patriots QB Drake Maye

It's hard to deny that Stafford is a top guy in the race, but Maye may be leading the award category. Maye has a league high 3,130 yards, with 21 TDs, six interceptions and a league high 71% completions among all regular NFL starters (of at least three starts or more). 

While Stafford may have more touchdowns, Maye has turned around the fortunes of a struggling New England team and is doing it without the same name value around him. He's more efficient, though barely, and has had more question marks to deal with than Stafford.

Though at this point in time, it's really anyone's guess how this whole race shakes out. After all, Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott and even Jared Goff are also vying for the award, and with how well these three, and the rest of the field, are looking, anything can still happen.