KC Chiefs: Top five MVP candidates heading into week 14
By Gage Stagner
Heading into week 14, a lot has shaken up in the MVP race. With big wins from the KC Chiefs and Texans, two familiar quarterbacks have vaulted back into contention with a chance to leap into serious consideration in the coming weeks.
There were several huge games for MVP candidates in week 13, including Baltimore vs. San Francisco, Seattle vs. Minnesota, and Houston vs. New England. We learned a lot from those three games as far as who is here to stay in the MVP race. Blowouts from the Packers and Kansas City Chiefs made it evident that Rodgers and Mahomes want a piece of the action as well.
Heading into week 12 the top five candidates were:
It will look quite different this week, especially with two newcomers to the list. Let’s get started with our dark horses.
Dark Horse Candidates
Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers
McCaffrey has had a free fall from the first week this column went up. He was ranked second on the first list made heading into week 11. This placement is just because McCaffrey needs to be mentioned. His team is now out of the playoff hunt, and he can only do so much given his position.
He’s been nothing short of ridiculous this year while sharing the backfield with a backup quarterback. McCaffrey is the most complete back in the league and deserves a spot here, but he’s no longer in consideration.
There’s a chance McCaffrey gets his workload dialed back with the unlikely nature of Carolina reaching a wild card spot in the deep NFC. If anyone deserves a rest, it’s him.
In 12 games, he’s racked up 1,167 rushing yards, good for best in the league, 5.0 yards per attempt, and 12 touchdowns. Maybe the craziest McCaffrey stat is that he’s rushed the ball 235 times already this year. He’s only rushed 571 times his whole career, meaning half of his career carries have come this year.
Christian McCaffrey is a machine.