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NFL: MVP contenders

The Jalen Hurts MVP bandwagon rolls on after another incredible performance from the Philadelphia Eagles QB in Week 13, but Patrick Mahomes may still be just ahead.

Further back in the betting, Joe Burrow's red-hot run has brought him firmly back into the conversation, but Josh Allen and Tua Tagovailoa are losing ground.

Jalen Hurts @ +140

Although not currently the market leader, let's start with Jalen Hurts because he's the one garnering most of the attention.

He threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns (with no interceptions) while rushing for another score in the Eagles' blowout victory over the Tennessee Titans.

One week after setting a new franchise-best mark for rushing yards from a QB (157) in Philly's prime-time win over the Green Bay Packers, Hurts showed that he can slide and dice teams through the air too.

He now has 3,549 combined yards (2,940 passing, 609 rushing) through 12 games - around 500 yards fewer than Mahomes, who also has added three extra TDs.

But he has led Philadelphia to the best record in football and he is the best player on the best team, which counts for plenty when it comes to the voting.

Patrick Mahomes @ +125

One week after he became an odds-on shot for his second regular season MVP award, Patrick Mahomes has been brought back to the chasing pack after being outdueled by Joe Burrow.

The Kansas City Chiefs star completed just 16 of his 27 attempted passes for a ratio that was below 60% for only the third time this season.

His production of 223 passing yards was his lowest of the year so far and so was the total number of snaps he took (55), which is credit to the Cincinnati Bengals' defense.

But Mahomes remains the leading regular season MVP candidate because he is still on pace to easily break the 5,000 passing yards barrier and notch 40+ touchdown tosses for only the second time in his career.

And all without the aid of Tyreek Hill, who is still putting up big numbers in Miami after his offseason trade to the Dolphins.

Joe Burrow @ +1000

Joe Burrow's stock is on the rise after he engineered yet another win over the Chiefs - the Cincinnati Bengals' third such in the calendar year.

Cincy's three victories all have one common denominator: Burrow outplayed Mahomes each time. He completed 25 of 31 pass attempts for 286 yards and two touchdowns at Paul Brown Stadium and was deadly accurate when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter.

Trailing 24-20 with less than 15 minutes on the game clock, he capped a 10-play drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to running back Chris Evans that was later revealed to be his ninth passing score in the fourth quarter, the most by any quarterback in the NFL this season.

He also used his legs on a career-high 11 carries for 46 yards and one rushing touchdown.

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Josh Allen @ +1200

Josh Allen has been treading water in the MVP reckoning for the past few weeks as the spotlight has been shone on his rivals.

But he did perform well in primetime last Thursday, throwing for 223 yards and two touchdowns in the Buffalo Bills' win over the New England Patriots.

He appears to have overcome a mid-season elbow injury and has now accumulated more than 3,600 passing yards for the season with 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

Allen has gone on a late-season tear in each of the last two seasons and would probably need a repeat to edge out the other main candidates.

Tua Tagovailoa @ +1400

Tua Tagovailoa's MVP odds have almost trebled in the last three weeks after he had entered Week 11 second only to Mahomes in the market.

He didn't gain much credit for an efficient outing against the Houston Texans last week and probably lost too much ground that was fair after tossing two interceptions to the San Francisco 49ers' secondary in Sunday's 33-17 loss in Santa Clara.

The Niners have the best defense on the planet this year, so it may be a bit harsh to judge him on those terms, but Mahomes did throw for 423 yards and three TDs against the same team earlier this year.

He could yet help the Dolphins knock the Bills off the top of the AFC East and winning the division is often seen as a necessity for MVP contention.

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