NFL MVP watch 2021 – Ranking the top candidates and risers in a close race, including Tom Brady and Lamar Jackson

The NFL is a strange place in 2021. Every franchise has lost at least two games, marking just the fourth time since the 1970 merger we’ve seen that 10 weeks into the season, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. And that kind of parity impacts how we judge the league’s best players.

No Most Valuable Player hopeful is flawless this season, and the race is razor-thin. In fact, every top candidate has at least one puzzling loss on his résumé. Dak Prescott played late into the fourth quarter of a 30-16 blowout by…