Media by Associated Press – Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) throws a pass during an NFL wild-card football game against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Emilee Chinn)
NFL MVP betting odds usually center around a quarterback bringing home the award. It’s been over ten years since a player who plays a different position won the award. Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson won the title as a running back in 2012, in a season where he normally broke the NFL’s rushing record.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is a heavy favorite to win MVP for the second time, but there can always be surprises. Here’s a look at some of the people with the best odds to win the MVP.
It’s hard to ignore Mahomes magic
Mahomes, who also won MVP in 2018, is a heavy favorite to win at -550. While Mahomes has done a number of amazing things during his career in Kansas City, he stacked up more milestones this season. Mahomes threw for a career-high 5,250 yards and completed 67.1 of his passes.
Mahomes has also thrown for 41 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while leading the Chiefs to the top seed in the AFC. An ankle injury leaves the fate of Kansas City’s Super Bowl chase in jeopardy, but Mahomes is going to try and gut things out.
Burrow works on staying upright
The Cincinnati Bengals went and invested money in the offensive line to help keep quarterback Joe Burrow upright. While there were some improvements from the previous year, injuries tore away at that depth as the season went along. Despite a slow start, Burrow (+600) was able to rally Cincinnati down the stretch and lead the team to its second straight AFC North title.
He passed for 4,475 yards along with 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Burrow did see a slight downturn in his numbers but helped the Bengals maintain their status as a Super Bowl contender.
Allen gets sunk by decision making
Bills quarterback Josh Allen (+1100) seemed to regress in certain areas this season. While he threw one fewer interception this season than last season, he still gave the ball away 14 times. Allen also fumbled a career-high eight times but only lost two of them.
Buffalo ran away with the AFC East thanks in part to Allen’s brilliance. He passed for 4,283 yards and 35 touchdowns. He also ran for 762 yards and scored seven touchdowns. Despite Buffalo having a regular-season win over Kansas City, Allen’s penchant for turnovers will likely see him fall short of being MVP.
Injuries put hurt on Hurts
Philadelphia has one of the NFL’s best offenses. The Eagles showed that by blasting the New York Giants in the NFC Divisional round. Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts (+1100) has been a steady commander of that unit. Hurts passed for 3,701 yards and 22 touchdowns this season.
Hurts also ran for 760 yards and scored 13 touchdowns. What makes Hurts’ candidacy tough is that he missed several key games down the stretch. Despite that, Philadelphia finished as the NFC’s top seed.
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