Should Jonathan Taylor Be The NFL MVP Favorite?

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is enjoying a historically impressive campaign. On Sunday, Taylor rushed for 244 yards and three touchdowns to help lead the Colts to an overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10. He should garner MVP consideration.

A non-quarterback hasn't won MVP since 2012. Adrian Peterson was the last running back to capture football's most prestigious individual honor. Taylor is performing well enough to potentially end that 12-year drought.

The Colts trailed the Falcons 17-16 in the fourth quarter with 6:16 remaining. Taylor handled a 2nd-and-2 carry and appeared to have run into a scrum of defenders. Taylor somehow emerged from the crowd and scampered up the boundary for an explosive go-ahead 83-yard touchdown.

The game went to overtime, tied at 25 apiece. After the Colts' defense forced a three-and-out, Daniel Jones and the offense orchestrated a seven-play touchdown drive. Taylor received six of those touches, winning the game via an eight-yard walk-off score.

Taylor rushed for 228 yards after contact in Berlin, the only game since at least 2017 with more than 200, according to Next Gen Stats. Taylor forced 11 missed tackles and gained 165 extra yards, the most by any player this season. A hard-nosed Falcons defense simply could not tackle him.

Taylor became the fourth running back in NFL history to accumulate 7,000 rushing yards and 70 touchdowns prior to turning 27 years old. Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith, Jim Brown, and LaDainian Tomlinson were the previous three. That's quite the company Taylor is keeping.

Sunday marked the fourth occasion this season that Taylor has rushed for three touchdowns in a single game. He became the only player in NFL history to record four contests with at least three rushing touchdowns through the first 10 weeks of a campaign. Taylor's scoring pace is never-been-done-before stuff.

The MVP race is especially tight and littered with parity. No quarterback candidate is running away with the award. The front-runners are Matthew Stafford and Drake Maye. Stafford has thrown a league-leading 25 touchdowns versus just two interceptions, and is fourth in passing yardage (2,427). Maye is third in yards (2,555) with 19 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Taylor should be considered a top-three MVP candidate alongside Stafford and Maye. All three players are powering their teams towards the postseason with better-than-expected results for all three franchises. Taylor shouldn't be dinged for playing running back, which has been more of an Offensive Player of the Year award in recent campaigns.

Taylor leads the league in rushing (1,139) and touchdowns (15). The former Wisconsin standout is on pace to rush for 1,936 yards, meaning he could flirt with joining the exclusive 2,000-yard club. Taylor's 6.0 yards per carry average leads the entire NFL, which may be his most impressive statistic given the volume of carries.

Taylor is having an MVP-like season. Stafford and Maye are also strong contenders at the preferred quarterback position. The voters should give serious consideration to Taylor if his 2025 campaign continues in this direction.