As the NFL works its way to the end of the 2023 regular season, the staffers here at CBSSports.com are keeping a close eye on the MVP race. As we usually do this time of year, we are once again releasing our weekly MVP watch, a poll of our writers and editors to determine whom we think will take home the hardware at the end of the year.
Last week, Dak Prescott led the voting over Brock Purdy and Jalen Hurts. This week, Dak leads again, and he actually garnered two more first-place votes this time around despite fewer voters participating. But his lead only expanded narrowly this time around, thanks to consolidation of the field around him.
In case you need a reminder of how this works, here it is: Our panel of voters were each asked to submit their top five choices for MVP. To reflect the ranked-choice voting system now in place, a first-place vote was worth 5 points, a second-place vote worth 4, third-place worth 3, fourth-place worth 2, and fifth-place worth 1. The candidates were then ranked in order of their total voting points received.
Without further ado, let's get to the voting breakdown. (Here is last week's version, for reference.)
The panel of voters: Jared Dubin, Will Brinson, Jeff Kerr, Cody Benjamin, Tyler Sullivan, Jordan Dajani, Bryan DeArdo, John Breech, Brett Anderson, Josh Edwards, Garrett Podell
The full MVP leaderboard
1. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (48 points) Last Week: 1st
2. 49ers QB Brock Purdy (36) Last week: 2nd
3. Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill (29) Last Week: 3rd
4. 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey (23) Last Week: 5th
5. Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (22) Last Week: 6th
6. Eagles QB Jalen Hurts (5) Last Week: 4th
T-7. Bills QB Josh Allen (1) Last Week: NR
T-7. Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa (1) Last Week: NR
Dropped out: Texans QB C.J. Stroud, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes
Most first-place votes:
- Dak Prescott (7 out of 11)
- Tyreek Hill (2)
- Brock Purdy, Lamar Jackson (1)
Most second-place votes:
- Christian McCaffrey (4 out of 10)
- Brock Purdy (3)
- Dak Prescott (2)
- Tyreek Hill, Lamar Jackson (1)
Most total ballots:
- Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy (11 out of 11)
- Tyreek Hill (10)
- Lamar Jackson (9)
- Christian McCaffrey (8)
- Jalen Hurts (4)
- Josh Allen, Tua Tagovailoa (1)
Positional representation:
- QB (6)
- WR (1)
- RB (1)
So who will actually win?
Prescott (+160) has jumped Purdy (+170) to become a narrow favorite to take home the trophy. That duo is far ahead of Jackson (+550), who is followed in the top five by Hill (+750) and Hurts (+900). McCaffrey (+2500) is fourth in our poll but just ninth in betting odds, with Allen (+1600) Mahomes (+2000) ahead of him and Tagovailoa (+2500) carrying the same odds. Stroud (+8000) is a distant 10th.
Much like last week, it seems like the markets expect the MVP to go to the quarterback of whichever NFC team lands the top seed in the conference, though Prescott's Cowboys are most likely to land the No. 5 seed even if they win out, because the Eagles have an easy schedule and the tiebreaker in the NFC East race, and the 49ers beat both the Cowboys and Eagles during the regular season. Dak's the favorite at the moment, but if the season ends with the Niners atop the conference (which seems likely given the teams' respective schedules), Purdy might be the guy who ends up with the award.
