Updated 12 Nov 2026.
The NFL MVP race after Week 9 in numbers: Joe Burrow leads with 23 TD passes and a 114.8 rating, Brock Purdy and Josh Allen lead 7-1 teams.
Who is leading the NFL MVP race in 2026?
Joe Burrow leads the NFL MVP race on the numbers after Week 9: 23 touchdown passes, the most in the league, and a 114.8 passer rating, the best of the 30 quarterbacks with 150 or more attempts. Brock Purdy and Josh Allen lead the 2 teams at 7-1.
The MVP is a vote, not a formula, and voters weigh team success with the stat line. So this article sets the 5 quarterbacks with the strongest case side by side: their passing, their running and their team's record and seed. The Joe Burrow stats page has his full game log, and the passing touchdowns leaders board ranks every passer.
How do the MVP candidates compare after Week 9?
The 5 leading MVP candidates after Week 9 split the 7 measures below: Burrow leads 2 (touchdowns and passer rating), Purdy leads QBR and shares the best record, 7-1, with Allen, who leads on rushing. Trevor Lawrence leads yards per attempt and Jordan Love passing yards, 2,618.
| Quarterback | Team record (seed) | Pass yards | TD-INT | Yards per attempt | Passer rating | QBR | Rush yards (TD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Burrow, Bengals | 6-2 (AFC 6) | 2,386 | 23-6 | 8.06 | 114.8 | 79.5 | 77 (3) |
| Brock Purdy, 49ers | 7-1 (NFC 1) | 1,980 | 17-5 | 8.39 | 109.8 | 81.4 | 201 (2) |
| Josh Allen, Bills | 7-1 (AFC 1) | 2,027 | 12-6 | 8.59 | 99.3 | 76.0 | 285 (9) |
| Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars | 6-2 (AFC 3) | 1,932 | 18-4 | 8.62 | 111.7 | 66.9 | 79 (0) |
| Jordan Love, Packers | 6-3 (NFC 7) | 2,618 | 19-6 | 7.68 | 97.9 | 70.2 | 23 (2) |
Burrow, Purdy, Allen and Lawrence have played 8 games and Love 9. Passer rating is the NFL's formula, worked out from each line's completions, yards, touchdowns and interceptions; QBR is a 0-100 rating that also counts runs, sacks and the game situation. The NFL quarterback rankings sort all 32 starters.
Why does Joe Burrow lead the MVP race on the numbers?
Joe Burrow leads the NFL in 3 passing measures: 23 touchdown passes, a 114.8 passer rating and a 74.0% completion rate, all 1st among the 30 qualified passers. He is 2nd in QBR (79.5) and 2nd in passing yards (2,386), 232 behind Love in 1 fewer game.
Burrow's 298.2 passing yards a game is the most of the 30, and with 3 rushing touchdowns he has 26 total touchdowns, also the most of any quarterback. The Bengals are 6-2 and hold the AFC 6 seed on the NFL playoff picture, behind 5 AFC teams with as good or better records. His top target, Tee Higgins, has 758 receiving yards, 5th in the NFL. The earlier Burrow and Love article covers the per-game race in detail.
What is Brock Purdy's MVP case?
Brock Purdy's MVP case is efficiency on the NFC's best team: an 81.4 QBR, 1st of the 30 qualified quarterbacks, and a 109.8 passer rating, 3rd, for the 7-1 49ers. San Francisco holds the NFC 1 seed and the 2nd-best point differential in the NFL, +79.
Purdy has 17 touchdown passes, 6th in the league, and 5 interceptions on 236 attempts, with 8.39 yards an attempt. He has added 201 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns. The 49ers are 5-0 at home and lead the NFC West standings; the 49ers team stats show how the offense is built around him and Christian McCaffrey, whose 10 total touchdowns are tied for 3rd in the NFL.
What is Josh Allen's MVP case?
Josh Allen's MVP case is that he scores with his legs and leads the AFC's top seed: 9 rushing touchdowns and 285 rushing yards, both the most of any of the 30 qualified quarterbacks, for the 7-1 Bills. Only 5 players in the NFL have more total touchdowns than his 9 on the ground.
As a passer Allen's line is smaller: 12 touchdowns, 6 interceptions and a 99.3 rating, though his 8.59 yards an attempt is 2nd of the 30. His QBR of 76.0 is 4th, because it credits his runs. The Bills score 32.0 points a game, the most in the NFL, are 4-0 on the road and hold the AFC 1 seed in the AFC East standings. Running back James Cook III has 814 rushing yards, 5th in the league.
Are Trevor Lawrence and Jordan Love in the MVP race?
Trevor Lawrence and Jordan Love are in the 2026 MVP race on 1 strong measure each: Lawrence has the best yards per attempt of the 30 qualified passers, 8.62, and Love the most passing yards in the NFL, 2,618. Neither yet leads on record or rating.
Lawrence's 111.7 passer rating is 2nd only to Burrow, with 18 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, and the 6-2 Jaguars have the NFL's best point differential at +108 (Jaguars team stats). Love has 19 touchdown passes, 3rd in the league, and 290.9 yards a game for the 6-3 Packers, the NFC 7 seed. His 7.68 yards an attempt is 10th of the 30: the Jordan Love passing yards article explains why his total runs on volume.
Which other quarterbacks could join the MVP race?
3 more quarterbacks on 6-2 teams have MVP-level numbers in 1 area: Jared Goff has a 106.4 passer rating (4th) and 2 interceptions, Kirk Cousins has 20 touchdown passes (2nd in the NFL) and Patrick Mahomes has a 101.8 rating for the AFC 5 seed.
| Quarterback | Team record (seed) | Pass yards | TD-INT | Passer rating | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jared Goff, Lions | 6-2 (NFC 5) | 2,134 | 15-2 | 106.4 | 58.5 |
| Kirk Cousins, Vikings | 6-2 (NFC 6) | 2,340 | 20-8 | 97.1 | 62.8 |
| Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs | 6-2 (AFC 5) | 2,037 | 14-4 | 101.8 | 60.9 |
Goff and Cousins have played 8 and 9 games. Cousins's 8 interceptions are the 6th-most of the 30, while Goff's 2 are tied for the 2nd-fewest. Every passer can be set against another on the NFL player comparison tool.
Can a non-quarterback win the MVP in 2026?
A non-quarterback would need a historic 2026 season, and none is on that pace after Week 9. Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads the NFL with 1,036 receiving yards in 9 games, Bijan Robinson leads with 880 rushing yards, and Jahmyr Gibbs and Kenneth Walker III share the touchdown lead at 11.
Smith-Njigba's 115.1 receiving yards a game for the 5-4 Seahawks is the standout line, and he has 9 touchdowns. The receiving yards leaders and rushing yards leaders boards update after every game; the Jaxon Smith-Njigba stats page has his game log.
What is next for the MVP candidates in Week 10?
All 5 leading MVP candidates play in Week 10, 4 of them on Sunday afternoon, 15 November. Burrow has the late slot: the Steelers visit the Bengals on Sunday night, a meeting of 2 of the 4 AFC teams at 6-2.
The 49ers visit the Cowboys, the Bills visit the Jets, the Jaguars visit the Titans and the Vikings visit the Packers, which puts Love against Cousins. Every kickoff is on the NFL schedule, and the passing yards leaders board moves after each game.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the favorite for NFL MVP in 2026?
On the numbers after Week 9, Joe Burrow has the strongest 2026 MVP case: 23 touchdown passes and a 114.8 passer rating, both 1st, for the 6-2 Bengals. Brock Purdy (81.4 QBR, 1st) and Josh Allen (9 rushing touchdowns) lead the 2 teams at 7-1. This article covers the stats, not the betting market.
Who leads the NFL in passing touchdowns in 2026?
Joe Burrow leads the NFL in passing touchdowns in 2026 with 23 after 8 games. Kirk Cousins is 2nd with 20 and Jordan Love 3rd with 19; Drake Maye and Trevor Lawrence share 4th at 18. The passing touchdowns leaders board ranks every passer.
Who has the highest passer rating in the NFL in 2026?
Joe Burrow has the highest passer rating in the NFL in 2026 at 114.8, of the 30 quarterbacks with 150 or more attempts after Week 9. Trevor Lawrence is 2nd at 111.7, Brock Purdy 3rd at 109.8 and Jared Goff 4th at 106.4.
Who leads the NFL in passing yards in 2026?
Jordan Love leads the NFL in passing yards in 2026 with 2,618 in 9 games, 290.9 a game. Joe Burrow is 2nd with 2,386 in 8 games and the higher per-game rate, 298.2; Dak Prescott (2,381) and Matthew Stafford (2,374) are 3rd and 4th.
How is the NFL MVP chosen?
The NFL MVP is chosen by a panel of 50 media members who each rank 5 players, and the winner is named at the NFL Honors show before the Super Bowl. There is no formula: voters weigh the stat line, the team's record and the player's share of its success.