National Football League

MVP Watch: Russ Cooking the NFL

Updated Oct. 16, 2020 10:12 p.m. ET

Week 5 is officially in the books (after a bit of schedule juggling) and the MVP picture is starting to crystallize, with just shy of one-third of the regular season complete.

Here are the top 5 favorites according to FOX Bet's insights, along with a breakdown of each candidate's recent play and what's on the horizon.

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1. Russell Wilson (+100)

How it's going: It's little surprise Wilson is FOX Bet's favorite after Week 5, particularly given his performance last Sunday night. Staring at his first defeat of the season, Wilson mounted a drive in the closing minutes in which he converted on fourth down twice to give the Seahawks (5-0) a narrow victory.

What's up next: Week 6 is a bye week for Seattle, allowing some key pieces – safety Jamal Adams among them – to potentially heal up ahead of a matchup with the Arizona Cardinals in Week 7. Arizona is a familiar sight for Wilson, who is 9-6-1 lifetime against the Cardinals, with 24 TDs and five interceptions.

What people are saying: "He's just got ice water in his veins. Nothing seems to faze him ... If my son grows up and plays QB, I'm going to make sure that he watches a lot of Russell Wilson." ⁠— Michael Vick

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2. Aaron Rodgers (+350)

How it's going: Green Bay had an early bye week, but Rodgers and the Packers (4-0) are off to a hot start. Rodgers has yet to throw an interception this season, and if he maintains the pace he's on, his 128.4 passer rating would be the highest of his career since his first MVP season in 2011.

What's up next: The Packers will visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as 2.5 point favorites on Sunday afternoon. Rodgers has split his four previous encounters with the Bucs, going 2-2 with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Adding to the intrigue is new Buccaneers QB Tom Brady. The two iconic signal-callers have gone head-to-head twice as starters, with each claiming a win.

What people are saying: "I think he's just motivated about showing everybody, 'Hey, I'm still Aaron Rodgers.' But also I think he's still trying to help motivate [rookie QB] Jordan Love to show him like, ... 'I don't want you to take my job, but if you're going to take my job, you have to do better than this.'" ⁠– Ryan Shazier

3. Patrick Mahomes (+500)

How it's going: The Chiefs (4-1) had a franchise-record 13-game winning streak snapped at the hands of the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5. Mahomes had three total touchdowns, but threw a grievous interception to set up a Raiders score late in the fourth quarter.

Mahomes responded well with a TD on the next possession, but the Chiefs ultimately fell short in the 40-32 loss.

What's up next: Kansas City will travel to Buffalo for a Monday night game that was originally scheduled for Thursday night, but was shifted due to COVID-19's impact on the schedule. It'll mark the first time Mahomes has confronted Buffalo in his young career.

What people are saying: "I will say this about this team: They can be maddeningly inconsistent, even offensively half to half. They can have bad halves, bad series. They're just not as consistent as I'd like offensively." ⁠– Colin Cowherd

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4. Josh Allen (+1000)

How it's going: Allen and the Buffalo Bills (4-1) had a rude awakening on Tuesday night, losing 42-16 to the Titans. The 24-year-old's first pass of the game resulted in an interception, which the Titans promptly turned into a touchdown two plays later.

The Bills never led in the game, and Allen had his worst statistical performance of the season with 263 yards passing, two TDs, two INTs, and a passer rating of 77.6.

What's up next: The third-year quarterback will have to wait until Monday night to bounce back. He and the Bills will have to do so against a fairly stingy Chiefs defense, which is allowing 22.0 points per game (7th best in the NFL) and 225.2 passing yards per game (6th in the NFL).

What people are saying: "Josh Allen went out there and played pedestrian at best ... He just didn't look like he was ready for the moment [against the undefeated Titans] at that point in time." ⁠– Keyshawn Johnson

5. Lamar Jackson (+1600)

How it's going: Jackson hasn't looked quite like his MVP-self in the early going. He missed some practice time heading into Sunday's game against the Bengals and it showed, completing just 51.3 percent of his passes in the 27-3 win.

Fortunately, he has the help of one of the league's best defenses, with the Ravens (4-1) holding teams to a league-low 15.2 points per game.

What's up next: Jackson has yet to face the Eagles, but the Ravens are 7.5 point favorites for their trip to Philadelphia. The Eagles are 1-3-1 on the season, and rank in the bottom third of the league with 145 points allowed.

What people are saying: "He's so dynamic, but he can't hit anything downfield. It looked like he was going through the motions the other day. It was a lazy game with his feet, he was inaccurate, he was 0-for-7 on throws that traveled more than 15 yards downfield ... He's gotta play better." ⁠– Greg McElroy