What the Vegas odds say about Patrick Mahomes’ MVP chances. (They like him a lot.)
When it comes to the NFL’s most valuable player, the conversation started with and has since returned to Patrick Mahomes.
Even after it veered off-track somewhere along the way.
The Chiefs quarterback is an overwhelming favorite to win the honor at year’s end, according to oddsmakers in Las Vegas. A bet of $40 on Mahomes would only profit $10 on multiple sportsbooks.
Mahomes has already won the award once, in 2018, his first year as a starting quarterback.
He opened the 2020 season as the odds-on favorite for a second trophy, but then the oddsmakers flirted with Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson for several weeks. But that has turned into more of a fling — Wilson has dropped to third in the race this week. Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers is second. Every other player in the league is considered an extreme long shot.
It’s the best odds for Mahomes this season after he threw for 462 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-24 win in Tampa Bay on Sunday. Just two weeks earlier, Mahomes’ projected chances to win the MVP were worse than 1-to-1.
But he’s on something of a roll, you could say. In the last four weeks, Mahomes has 1,598 yards (399.5 per game), 14 touchdowns and just one interception. For the season, Mahomes leads the NFL with 3,497 yards, which is 281 more than Wilson and 397 more than Rodgers.
Rodgers paces the league with 33 touchdowns with Wilson (31) and Mahomes (30) closely behind. But nobody in football has a better touchdown-to-interception ratio than Mahomes, who has been picked off on just 0.5% of his throws.
Mahomes and the Chiefs (10-1) will play host to the Broncos (4-7) on Sunday Night Football.