Image: Torsten Bolten
IN THIS ISSUE:
NFL MVP Chase standings, and where's Drake Maye?
The season's first NBA MVP Chase standings
College Football Playoff standings
NFL MVP CHASE
I may need to take a break from the MVP Chase, and so the NFL's MVP Chase standings are a bit premature; the Monday Night game between the Eagles and Packers hasn't been played.
If the Packers win and QB Jordan Love has a productive game, he'll enter the top ten and could climb as high as sixth. If the Eagles win, QB Jalen Hurts can climb as high as ninth. (Neither team has another viable MVP candidate right now.)
What I find interesting is the MVP talk surrounding QB Drake Maye of the Patriots, who has led them to an 8-2 record and a seven-game winning streak. I have him 28th in the MVP Chase, with 13 quarterbacks ranked ahead of him. Of course, I'm measuring valuable quarterback play differently than most:
Total up the quarterbacks' first downs and touchdowns, both passing and rushing.
Subtract the total number of interceptions, sacks, and fumbles.
If the team wins the game and net first downs/touchdowns is 12 or more, the QB gets an MVP point, which could max out at 1.5 if the net is 22.
Maye has earned an MVP Chase point in just three of eight wins. I decided to look at more conventional stats to see why there's MVP talk about him.
Passer Rating: Maye is ranked sixth, and has won more games than the QBs ahead of him (although two of them are 7-2 to his 8-2).
Passing Yards: Maye ranks third.
1st Downs (including Touchdowns): Maye is fifth.
Then:
In four victories, Maye fumbled at least once.
In five victories, Maye had three or more sacks.
Maye hasn't passed for 300 yards in a game this season, preventing him from collecting a massive amount of first downs in any particular game.
The number of "bad" plays often pushes Maye below the net 12 standard. Justin Herbert has a similar number of bad plays, but also has a couple of 300-yard games and more rushing yards, allowing him to collect more first downs and accumulate more MVP points.
While Maye is playing well and could very well climb up the rankings over the remaining seven games, it's not as his second year resembles 1984 Dan Marino or 2018 Patrick Mahomes.
NBA MVP CHASE
Number of games won in which the player's Game Score plus +/- equalled 30 or more. For games played through November 8, 2025:
COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP 25
Based on the merits; this is not an evaluation of the most talented teams. Each team’s Playoff Chase Points reflect the number of wins by opponents the team has beaten, with a deduction depending on the number of losses by the teams it lost to and the margin of defeat. (In this system, most teams would have a negative number.) Where there is a tie in Playoff Chase Points, teams are ranked by fewer games, then by the lower margin(s) of defeat.
Ohio State (9-0) 46
Indiana (10-0) 46
Texas A&M (9-0) 41
Alabama (8-1) 34
Georgia (8-1) 33
Texas Tech (9-1) 33
Oregon (8-1) 31
Ole Miss (9-1) 30
North Texas (8-1) 30
Georgia Tech (8-1) 29
Brigham Young (8-1) 29
Oklahoma (7-2) 27
Virginia (8-2) 27
Notre Dame (7-2) 26
USC (7-2) 26
Michigan (7-2) 23
James Madison (9-1) 22
Vanderbilt (8-2) 22
Houston (8-2) 22
Memphis (8-2) 22
Louisville (7-2) 21
Texas (7-2) 21
South Florida (7-2) 21
Miami FL (7-2) 20
Utah (7-2) 20
The following are teams I have not yet eliminated from the playoffs. I have previously eliminated 16 teams with three losses or fewer, based on suffering blowout losses or losing hope for a conference title, their only path to making the playoffs.
Cincinnati (7-2)
Navy (7-2)
Pitt (7-2)
San Diego St (7-2)
Southern Miss (7-2)
UNLV (7-2)
Arizona State (6-3)
Connecticut (7-3)
Fresno State (6-3)
Hawaii (6-3)
Iowa (6-3)
Jacksonville St (6-3)
TCU (6-3)
Tennessee (6-3)
Troy (6-3)
Washington (6-3)
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Contact James Leroy Wilson for writing, editing, research, and other work at jamesleroywilson-at-gmail.com. Visit JL Cells for my non-sports writing.
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