Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips called Lamar Jackson the NFL’s MVP on Thursday, and the Ravens quarterback has the best current odds to win the award. Russell Wilson is a close second.
But Vegas missed on the candidate who should have the third-best odds.
It’s not Aaron Rodgers (9-1), and it’s not Patrick Mahomes (10-1).
It’s Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who put himself firmly in the conversation with his third 400-yard passing game of the season. In NFL history, only Dan Marino (1984), Peyton Manning (2013) and Ryan Fitzpatrick (2018) have had four 400-yard games in a single season.
Prescott leads the league with 3,221 passing yards, putting him on pace for 5,154 yards. Only seven quarterbacks ever have passed for more than 5,000 yards in a season, including Drew Brees five times.
Prescott, though, is not listening to the MVP chatter.
“One, it’s crazy early, right? And, two, I mean as I’ve talked about, it’s winning,” Prescott said Thursday, via Todd Archer of ESPN. “The only thing I care about is wins. So if that means I’m the most winningest quarterback in the league, sure, I want it. But until it means that, I don’t care. It’s something cool, right? But I want to win games and that’s the most important thing.”
Therein lies the biggest deterrent to Prescott winning the award. The Cowboys are 6-4 and play the Patriots on Sunday. The Ravens are 8-2, and the Seahawks are 8-2.