Mayfield heads early MVP race

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is the NFL’s outstanding MVP frontrunner after only six weeks of the 2025 season.

He is playing out of his skin having evolved as one of the great modern career revival stories, after being written-off No 1 pick and Carolina Panthers bridge option into a beloved provider of downfield impact plays and gritty runs.

Mayfield strengthened his case as an MVP candidate on Sunday, completing 17 of 23 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns to inspire the Bucs to a 30-19 win over the San Francisco 49ers. And this time, he did it without Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and rookie sensation Emeka Egbuka, who managed just two catches for 24 yards before suffering a hamstring injury.

Mayfield’s star moment came with the Bucs staring at third-and-14 while holding onto a 20-19 lead with 2.48 left in the third quarter. Mayfield miraculously slipped two sack attempts in the backfield, before escaping on the outside, pump-faking, side-stepping another diving tackle effort and barging through one more defender to reach for the first down.

Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs started the season badly but they do have Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs know how to navigate an entire NFL season better than any and are now 3-3. The Baltimore Ravens are plummeting towards a wasted year with others wobbling, the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles are still working things out, the Cincinnati Bengals are nothing with Joe Burrow and the Detroit Lions just squandered a golden opportunity to lay down their Championship credentials.

Mahomes out-classed the Lions on Sunday night as they stormed to a 30-17 victory, in which the Chiefs quarterback threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for a score as Kansas City and their struggling offense put up at least 28 points for the third straight game. Mahomes has now completed 98 of 145 passes while registering 1,069 yards, 11 total touchdowns and just one interception in his last four games. And he gets his best receiver back this week as Rashee Rice returns from suspension. Rice’s availability should at least boost a non-existent downfield passing game, the decline of which has been stark since the days of Tyreek Hill.