Peter King: Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson in Top 3 for MVP Race

With apologies to the spectacular play of Christian McCaffrey, Peter King's MVP ballot at the season's midpoint is all quarterbacks.

The NBC Sports columnist wrote his top choice for MVP after Week 9's action is Russell Wilson, who is followed closely behind by Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson.

Wilson, Jackson and Watson were each victorious Sunday, playing spectacularly in necessary wins for their respective teams.

Wilson threw for 378 yards and five touchdowns in an overtime shootout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jackson flummoxed the New England Patriots with his abilities through the air and on the ground, and Watson kept the Texans alive in a divisional-round matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars with his efficient play. 

Wilson has emerged as something of a clear-cut favorite, throwing for 2,505 yards and an NFL-high 22 touchdowns against only one interception this season. He has the Seahawks sitting at 7-2 and well on their way to at least clinching a Wild Card spot in the playoffs—if only by virtue of the San Francisco 49ers being undefeated.

Six of Seattle's seven wins have come by one score, with Wilson leading three game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime.

Jackson arguably moved into the No. 2 spot with his three-touchdown outing Sunday night against the Patriots, whose defense entered Week 9 on course to rank among the greatest in league history. He is on pace to become the second quarterback in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season and could challenge Michael Vick's all-time mark (1,039 yards) from 2006.

Watson's resume has a mix of both Wilson and Jackson, compiling brilliant counting stats with his arm and legs while being the difference-maker in several close Texans victories. Odds are he would probably finish third in the voting if it ended today, but Watson has a Nov. 17 matchup head-to-head with Jackson that could decide the AFC's best shot at winning the award. 

---

It's now a three-headed mobile-quarterbacks race for MVP. Who's your pick? On this episode of The Lefkoe Show, Brian Westbrook and Adam Lefkoe break down the extraordinary performances of Lamar Jackson (featuring a very angry interruptive phone call by a frustrated Patriots fan named Pat Pat), Deshaun Watson (leading to Lefkoe's long overdue apology for correctly stating that Watson is carrying this team), and Russell Wilson (on whom some very outlandish -- but secretly defensible -- praise is heaped). Also, the return of Dolphin Tank! And Westbrook breaks down one rookie running back's highlights to determine that... yeah, Westbrook was faster. Keep tuning in all season long, and through the playoffs, for more Westbrook and Lefkoe!