It happened once again. A quarterback found his name placed in an undeserving, or rather disrespectful, place. It has happened with Brock Purdy, Jalen Hurts, and even Lamar Jackson in the past. This time, it concerned the reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen, who pulled off a miraculous comeback victory over the AFC North-champion Ravens. Yet, in the Quarterback Rankings, he was nowhere to be found in the top ten. Just a rank below!

The 2025 season has begun, and it’s truly been a dose of adrenaline for the fans. The Bills opened their season with a close 41-40 triumph, kudos to their man-in-command. With 394 passing yards, Allen recorded two touchdowns, followed by two rushing touchdowns. This marked the seventh time in his career that he had at least two passing and rushing TDs—the most by any player in NFL history. On top of that, he also joined the ranks of Tom Brady, Brett Favre, and Thurman Thomas as a reigning NFL MVP recording at least four TDs in Week 1. And guess what? All of them added a Super Bowl ring to their accolades. Perhaps history might repeat itself. 

Despite such a historic Week 1, ESPN dropped the Bills’ star signal-caller outside the rankings of the top ten QBs, at eleventh. That sure demands an explanation. ESPN ranked quarterbacks based on QBR, noting Allen with 78.7. And guess who ranked top on the list? Lamar Jackson, who posted 209 passing yards and two touchdowns, also had 70 rushing yards with a touchdown. 

QBR is a metric started by ESPN in 2011. It evaluates a quarterback’s overall performance, taking into account rushing, passing, turnovers, penalties, and game context. On every one of them, Allen outranks the list of those ten QBs, including his archrival, Jackson. NFL Power Rankings placed Allen at the top rank. So, on what basis did ESPN find his QBR average? 

Around a month ago, in August, an ESPN analyst pledged his loyalty to Allen (well, not technically), but he certainly bestowed the three-time Pro Bowler with all kinds of praise. With just the exception of traits like mechanics and decision-making, Dan Orlovsky ranked the Bills’ Allen among the top ten QBs with traits of arm strength, pocket presence, second reaction, rushing ability, and ball placement. So what appears to be happening inside the network is a difference of opinion. That mix of skepticism and praise set the stage for Week 1, where Allen already started leading for his second consecutive title. 

Josh Allen already the favorite for MVP 

Week 1 was widely considered a rematch of the 2024 NFL Divisional showdown, with the Ravens facing the Bills. However, against all odds, Allen once again destroyed the Jackson-led Ravens. So naturally, his name popped up first in the MVP conversation. Of course, it was a neck-and-neck clash; the two-time NFL MVP was outperformed by the reigning MVP—just like last season’s MVP race. Once again, Allen appears to be the favorite in the early conversations with +350 odds according to DraftKings. 

The Athletic’s rankings also put Allen as the favorite, with Hannah Vanbiber writing, “The MVP odds are essentially a battle between Jackson and Allen at the top — the two favorites in this past year’s voting, as well.” Allen stands with +310 odds, followed by Jackson with +550 odds, which dropped from +500 last week.

As for other contenders, posting a victory in Week 1, Jayden Daniels ranks third in the MVP contention with +1000, followed by Patrick Mahomes with +1200 and Joe Burrow with +1200. The reigning Super Bowl champion, Hurts, is also among the contenders, with odds of +1900. The MVP conversation is only going to be more exciting from here on. Who knows, the throne would be taken from Allen or Jackson by someone new this season?