The quarterbacks are the players that excite the football fans the most. From the biggest deals to the highest honors, they are usually the ones grabbing all the attention. And the 2023 NFL season has seen its fair share of offensive masterclasses as well. The recent example being the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson who took the league by storm.

But the MVP is a tough award to earn. So, when it comes to the NFL’s biggest individual prize, which QB is likely to get the final nod with 2 games to remain in the regular season? Here are the 5 best-performing QBs in the league, according to recent performances.

Top 5 NFL QBs heading into the week 17

5. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

Jackson has made an unexpectedly quick rise to the top 5. While his regular season stats only rank him as the 15th-best QB in the league, his season-defying 49ers’ game has changed the atmosphere. While the majority of the people would still disregard his opportunistic performance as MVP-worthy, there’s no denying that a successful playoff run for the Ravens could give him a huge sentimental push.

Jackson is a dual threat QB, other than throwing 3357 yards for 19 TDs with a respectable 97.2 passer rating, the Ravens QB also has 786 rushing yards with 5 rushing TDs. He has been the unchallenged rushing leader among QBs for the past few seasons.

4. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills

Allen’s season has somewhat been hampered by a constant shoulder injury, and he is by far the least talked about QB on the list. But let that not fool you, as the Bills’ QB is statistically the most productive in the league this season. He has thrown for 50 TDs, combining passing, receiving and rushing.

In the passing department alone, he has 3778 yards for 27 touchdowns and a 93.7 passer rating. His underrated stats have propelled the Bills to a 91% chance of making the playoffs, which could come as early as December 31 with a win over the Patriots.

3. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

Prescott was the NFL’s darling for quite some time, but this league never forgives. After 2 repeated losses that sent the Cowboys behind the Eagles, the Cowboys’ QB has heavily hurt his MVP chances. But the numbers are still good enough to rank him as the 5th best in the league.

Prescott has thrown 3892 yards for 30 touchdowns, the highest of them all. He also has a top-three conversion rate at 68.4%, a top-three passer rating at 104.2, and 7 interceptions only, the lowest among the active QBs. If the Cowboys make it to the Super Bowl after 26 years, Prescott makes a solid case for both the MVP and the Offensive Player of the Year.

2. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers

It probably hurts many seeing the 49ers QB Brock Purdy anywhere other than the No. 1 spot. But his single display against the Ravens did more damage to himself than all his previous displays did to Purdy’s opponents, unfortunately. He had a huge fall from the top after throwing 4 interceptions, and analysts like Rob Parker have straight up even termed him as the “biggest flop in the history of sports.”

However, the stats don’t lie. Purdy is neck-to-neck with the passing leader (whom we will soon talk about), and the duo remains head and shoulders above the competition. Purdy has thrown 4050 yards for 29 TDs with a 68.8 completion rate, a league-leading 9.7 yards/attempt, and a 112.8 passer rating. His unfortunate highlights of the season are the 11 interceptions to his name, 4 of which came against the Ravens last week.

1. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

A lot of people had probably forgotten about Tagovailoa because of how dominant he’s been throughout the season. For the past 6 weeks, the Dolphins QB has been the distant leader at the top before Purdy started chasing him. But unlike Purdy, Tagovailoa is yet to encounter an unfortunate showdown that might hurt his MVP credentials.

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On the numerical side, it’s a total dominance from Tyreek Hill‘s offense-mate. Tagovailoa has thrown a league-leading 4214 yards for 26 TDs, a league-leading 70.5% conversion rate, and is now the only QB over that mark following Purdy’s slip-up. Tagovailoa also has a top-two yards/attempt at 8.5 and a 105.4 passer rating heading into week 17. Unless there’s a big shift in dynamics in the postseason, the Dolphins’ QB is set to lead the season till it’s ending in February.

Which QB from the top 5 do you think should win the MVP and Offensive Player of the Year Award? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

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