The NFL season is nearly a quarter of the way through, and the cream is starting to rise to the top in 2025. As the calendar flips to October, it's time to check in on the various award races around the league to see who is in line to contend for some of the sport's biggest individual trophies at the end of the year.
First up is the MVP award, the biggest individual honor of them all. The 2025 race features a lot of familiar faces, including the last three winners in Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes. However, Jackson's candidacy has taken a hit after the Ravens' poor start combined with his hamstring injury that could keep him out for a few weeks.
Who takes the top spot? Let's count down the top five.
Honorable mention: Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, Colts QB Daniel Jones, Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, Packers QB Jordan Love
5. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott
The Cowboys are just 1-2-1 on the season after a bizarre tie against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night in Week 4, but it is no fault of Dak Prescott's. Without their star quarterback playing some of the best football of his career, there's no telling where the Cowboys might be this season.
Prescott played an incredible game in a Week 1 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles before some crucial drops by CeeDee Lamb late in the game let him down. He was also excellent in the Week 4 tie against Green Bay, even without Lamb on the field due to his ankle injury.
Through four weeks, Prescott ranks third in the NFL in completion percentage (72.9%) and Next Gen Stats has him at the top of the league in completion percentage over expected (+8.9%). That is a flawed stat at times, but it shows that Prescott has still been able to maintain his elite efficiency while pushing the ball down the field into tight windows and taking a lot of risk.
Prescott's counting stats are also elite, as he currently leads the league in passing yards with 1,119 and has six touchdowns to three picks so far. The Cowboys' offensive line is now pretty banged up, which will make things tougher for Prescott, but he will be getting Lamb back soon.
Dallas likely won't win enough games for Prescott to rise on this list, but there's a world out there where he builds a 2024 Joe Burrow-type case as he tries to keep up with this porous Cowboys defense.
4. Rams WR Puka Nacua
It is going to be very difficult for a non-quarterback to win the NFL MVP in any year, but a season like the one Puka Nacua is having is exactly the one that could stir up a conversation.
Through just four games, Nacua has caught 42 of his 50 targets for 503 yards and a touchdown while also finding the end zone once on the ground. That puts him on an absolutely ridiculous 17-game pace: 179 catches for 2,138 yards and nine total touchdowns.
Now, that pace will not keep up, and if it does Nacua will almost certainly win the award while he shatters most receiving records known to man. However, even if it tapers off a bit, he can still stay in this conversation.
The BYU product continues to get it done in the passing game, and the addition of Davante Adams seems to have only freed him up even more. He is also a huge asset in the run game essentially as a tight end who can be an effective blocker at the point of attack. That makes him extremely valuable to this Rams offense even more than the average elite receiver and is a big reason he could be here to stay in the MVP race.
3. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes
The Chiefs started the 2025 season off about as poorly as possible, but they have steadied the ship and showed off the champion mentality that has made them the kings of the AFC over the last five years. The vibes around Kansas City have completely flipped after crushing the Ravens 37-20 in Week 4, and now it has a chance to build some momentum going forward.
Mahomes hasn't been at his best so far this season, but he looked great in the game against the Ravens, which was also the first game that Xavier Worthy has been in the lineup from start to finish. The Chiefs are now also just two games from Rashee Rice taking the field after his six-game suspension, so this unit should only be getting better.
Despite the relative struggles of this offense, Mahomes still has seven touchdowns to one interception and is still seventh in the NFL in EPA per dropback.
The Chargers are now reeling and are without both of their star tackles, while Kansas City's schedule lightens up a bit as the season goes along. If the offense continues to ascend when Rice gets back on the field and the Chiefs overtake Los Angeles in the AFC West race, Mahomes can put himself right in the thick of this race.
2. Chargers QB Justin Herbert
Before Week 4, Herbert may very well have been in the pole position here. However, a disastrous outing against the Giants, which included two turnovers that weren't necessarily his fault, has dropped the star quarterback one spot this week.
Herbert is throwing the ball a lot more often than he did last year, and the re-insertion of Keenan Allen into the lineup as well as the year three breakout for Quentin Johnston has allowed the passing game to thrive. However, in Week 4, the loss of Joe Alt on the offensive line proved to be too much when combined with Rashawn Slater's season-ending injury suffered in the preseason.
Herbert was under fire all day, and the Chargers offense had little chance to succeed as a result. However, Los Angeles won't have to deal with fronts that are as talented as the one in New York, and Herbert should have some more space to work as a result. He is scrambling more this season, and has been absolutely crushing defenses with his legs.
If anybody can deal with the lack of pass protection, it's Herbert. His ability to navigate muddy pockets and throw with defenders in his face and at his feet is at the very top of the game, and the Chargers have the type of receiving core and defense that will allow them to get a lot of wins. Even after a rough week, don't expect Herbert to go down quietly here.
1. Bills QB Josh Allen
Through four weeks, everyone is looking up at Josh Allen in the MVP race. The 2024 MVP came into the season as one of two heavy favorites along with Jackson, but the latter's shaky start combined with his injury has allowed Allen to pull out in front by a wide margin.
Not only are the Bills one of two unbeaten teams in football at 4-0 after September, but Allen has been a big reason why. He leads the league in EPA per dropback (+0.28) and has seven touchdowns to just one interception on the season. He also has 159 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, so he is impacting the game in every way he can.
Everything is setting up for Allen to get his hands on the award for the second year in a row. The Bills are already in first place and play in a pretty soft division, where none of the other teams can really challenge them. They also play a weak schedule, helped in part by those games against the rest of the AFC East. Buffalo is also in prime time plenty, so he will have a lot of chances to show off in front of the nation and already did with his epic comeback against the Ravens.
Until proven otherwise, this award is Allen's to lose.
