Getty Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes II against the Seattle Seahawks in 2022.
Since the 2022 season first began, it feels like NFL writers have been searching to find a quarterback that they can justify as the league’s most valuable player over Kansas City Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes II.
The closest challenger was probably Philadelphia Eagles riser Jalen Hurts — who has become the new darling of the NFL this year — but after a recent injury and a solid performance from backup Gardner Minshew in his place, it’s hard to see Hurts winning the award now. Mahomes is truly irreplaceable on this Chiefs roster, and that’s what makes him so deserving of one of the league’s top honors.
Of course, some are still attempting to create a world where Mahomes does not win the MVP trophy for the second time.
NFL Writer Urges Josh Allen Over Patrick Mahomes for MVP
With players like Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa falling fast, Mahomes’ top competition for MVP appears to be quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Josh Allen — based on the odds. NFL writer Jeff Bell started Week 17 by making a last-ditch effort for the latter on Twitter.
“Now that it’s pretty safe [to say] Patrick Mahomes won’t be breaking any NFL records in 2022, it’s time to talk about giving the MVP to the guy who beat him head to head and is two wins from the #1 seed in the AFC,” Bell voiced with a GIF of Allen waving.
Now that it’s pretty safe Patrick Mahomes won’t be breaking any NFL records in 2022, it’s time to talk about giving the MVP to the guy who beat him head to head and is two wins from the #1 seed in the AFC.
The Buffalo Bills rival had been battling Mahomes for the individual award up until midseason around Week 8. At that point, Allen began throwing a bunch of reckless interceptions, dropping two out of three games with six passing turnovers. That stretch plummeted him in the ranks and only now has he risen again.
As it stands, Mahomes is the heavy favorite to win the MVP this year at -500 odds (per DraftKings Sportsbook). The Cincinnati Bengals signal-caller, Burrow, is next at +700 with Allen right behind him at +800. Hurts has dropped to fourth with +1000 odds.
In reality, only one player makes sense barring a total collapse during the final two weeks. Mahomes leads the NFL in passing yardage (by 460 yards), passing yards per game, passing touchdowns, and QBR. He’s also second in passer rating behind Tagovailoa by 0.4 points and has less interceptions than both Burrow and Allen.
As runners, Hurts and Allen do add over 740 yards a piece — as well as seven extra TDs for Allen and 13 for Hurts — but Mahomes is no slouch either with 321 rushing yards and four scores on the ground. Hurts and Mahomes also have the same number of fumbles (five) while Allen already has eight.
Add all of that up and Mahomes still leads the Bills star in both total yardage and touchdowns. In other words, Bell’s Week 17 push for Allen to unseat Mahomes feels much more like a desperate plea than a legitimate debate.
Jeff Bell Gets Crickets After Josh Allen Tweet
The response to Bell’s tweet says it all. New app features allow us to see that this opinion has over 360,000 views and only 188 likes at this time. That’s a terribly low “like percentage” of 0.00052%.
Even worse were his retweets, with seven, although 126 users have quote tweeted the analyst. That’s not exactly a good thing though, as a majority of the quote tweets were negative responses.
“Pat has to break records but beating the Chiefs in October was enough to declare Allen the MVP,” wrote one fan.
Another questioned: “The guy who needs the crutch of a top 10 defense just to have the same record as Mahomes?”
“How many more scatter plots with Mahomes in the top right [corner] do you need to see?” A third fan asked, referencing all of the analytical charts that the Chiefs QB leads in.
“When you have to look for reasons NOT to give the MVP to someone,” one final fan voiced, and Heavy on Chiefs own Devon Clements commented too.
“Yes because both quarterbacks actually faced each other during that game,” he stated sarcastically. “This is when you know Patrick Mahomes is the runaway MVP.”