It's still probably too early to be talking MVP, but we're gonna talk about it anyway. That's because Tampa Bay QB Baker Mayfield has been electric, and he's forced his way into the way-too-early MVP discussion through six weeks.
Where does he rank among the rest of the contenders?
Six weeks into the season, it feels like there is a group of eight quarterbacks who have separated themselves from the pack. Those include Baker Mayfield, Dak Prescott, Daniel Jones, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Matthew Stafford, Jared Goff, and Drake Maye.
Statistically, the eight passers are very close, and all have their own strengths and weaknesses. All eight rank among the top ten in passing yards, with Stafford leading the way at 1,684 and Goff in tenth, with 1,390 yards. Six of the eight rank in the top ten in yards-per-attempt, with Drake Maye at 8.5, atop the group. Mahomes and Prescott, both at 7.1, rank outside the top-10.
Only four of the eight MVP contenders rank among the top ten in completion percentage, and they make up the top four in the league. That includes Jared Goff, whose 75.9% leads the NFL.
All eight besides Daniel Jones are in the top-10 for touchdown passes, with Goff leading the way at 14. Jones has just eight. Six of the eight rank in the top-10 in passer rating, with Allen and Mahomes the only ones missing the cut (Allen ranks 11th).
Clearly, there is statistical parity between these players. Only one of the eight ranks among the top-10 in every category. That's Goff, whose 14:2 TD:INT ratio also looks quite impressive. However, he has struggled in a pair of bad losses against the two best teams he's played, the Chiefs and Packers.
What's the case for Mayfield? Simply, Mayfield has put up similar numbers to the other top quarterbacks in the league with significantly fewer weapons to throw to.
Mayfield has been without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, his top two receivers, for multiple games all season. In fact, the two have yet to take the field together. He's also missing his No. 3 receiver, Jalen McMillan, all year, and has also been down RB Bucky Irving for the past two games. Not to mention Emeka Egbuka, who was injured during Tampa Bay's win over San Francisco, and Trista Wirfs, who began the season out.
That's a lot of talent missing from Tampa Bay's offense. By the end of the game against the 49ers, the Buccaneers' receiving corps consisted of Sterling Shepard, [Tez Johnson](https://thepewterplank.com/tez-johnson-hilarious-reaction-baker-mayfield-mvp-chants-week-6), and Kaleb Johnson. Not exactly the guys Mayfield thought he would be throwing the ball to this season.
It did not faze him one bit. Mayfield threw touchdown passes to both Johnson's, and Tampa Bay earned their biggest win of the season against a 4-1 San Francisco squad.
Mayfield has also been clutcher than clutch in 2025. He's led [Tampa Bay on four game-winning](https://thepewterplank.com/baker-mayfield-buccaneers-just-did-something-never-done-before-in-nfl-history) drives, the most in the NFL at this point.
With similar stats to the rest of the NFL's top passers, but a clutch gene and an ability to win without his top weapons, Baker Mayfield is probably the NFL's most valuable player, so far, in 2025.