Happy Wednesday football fans. Welcome back to our weekly discussion about the players in the running for the NFL MVP award. A week ago, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, and Russell Wilson rounded out this list. This past week, one of the quarterbacks put together a game-winning drive to help his team remain perfect. Another quarterback came up short against a division rival, while the third quarterback had a bye week.
Did this result in a small shift in how these players rank? You better believe it. Here’s the updated list of the odds-on favorite to win the MVP award based upon how they played in Week 5.
Third-Best NFL MVP Odds: Patrick Mahomes (+600). Last Week (+300)
The Chiefs had reeled off 13 straight victories dating back to last season. On top of that, their defense was doing a decent job of limiting their opponents’ aerial attack. Unfortunately, both of those trends came to a screeching halt against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Derek Carr had his way against Kansas City’s defense most of the afternoon. He threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns while connecting with 11 different receivers. Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes had a decent day at the office as well, completing 22 of 43 passes for 340 yards. He also had a pair of touchdowns and one interception.
Second-Best NFL MVP Odds: Aaron Rodgers (+300). No Change
A week ago, I stated that if Aaron Rodgers continued to play as he did in Week 4, that he would eventually move up on the weekly list. Looks like that process has already begun as he has moved up to the No. 2 spot, up from No. 3 last week. The last time we saw Mr. Rodgers, he was leading the Packers to a 30-16 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
To refresh your memory, in that contest, Rodgers completed 27 of 33 passes for 327 yards and he also threw four touchdowns in a game for the second time this season, increasing his TD total to 13. Let’s also remember that he has remained mistake-free as he has yet to throw an interception. Barring unforeseen circumstances, Rodgers should be a mainstay on this list for the remainder of the season.
Best NFL MVP Odds: Russell Wilson (+100). Last Week (+175)
Russell Wilson sitting atop the leaderboard has become the norm as of late. After all, he has been at the No. 1 spot for four consecutive weeks. The team’s Week 5 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings turned out to be a thriller. Surprisingly, the Vikings managed to hold Seattle’s offense in check as they pitched a shutout during the first half, taking a 13-0 lead after the first 30 minutes of action.
Wilson and the offense finally came to life during the third quarter, producing three touchdowns in the span of 1:42. However, the Vikings had a chance to put the game away up by five points late in the fourth quarter. On a fourth-and-one, Seattle’s defense – which gave up 201 rushing yards, stopped Minnesota on their own six-yard line. Consequently, the Seahawks produced a 94-yard scoring drive capped off by a touchdown pass from Wilson to DK Metcalf with 15 seconds left to play. Wilson didn’t have his best game of the season, completing 20 of 32 passes for 217 yards.
Despite being sacked four times, Wilson also threw three touchdowns one interception. In the end, Wilson engineered his 34th game-winning drive (regular season and playoffs combined) when trailing or tied in the fourth quarter and overtime. Simply put, coming up clutch has been a trademark of Wilson during his NFL career, which is why he continues to be the odds-on favorite in the MVP race.
