Aaron Rodgers is in a close race with Patrick Mahomes for the NFL MVP award and he may have finally taken the lead with a week to go for the regular season. Rodgers had another dominant performance in the Green Bay Packers’ victory over the Tennessee Titans, finishing 21 out of 25 (84%) with 241 yards with four touchdowns and an interception – ending with a passer rating of 128.1 in the win.
Rodgers accomplished a rare feat in the NFL with Sunday’s performance, a path to winning his third MVP award. Rodgers played his 13th game with more than 100 passers in 2020, drawing with most of those games in a single season in the Super Bowl era. The only other two defenders to reach this milestone are Rodgers (2011) and Patrick Mahomes (2018) – and both won the MVP award in their respective seasons.
Rodgers is having an unbelievable season for the leading NFC Packers, ranking second in the NFL in percentage completion (70.3%), fifth in passing yards (4,059) and first in touchdowns (44) and passer rating ( 119.4). This comes with Green Bay receivers dropping 6.5% of Rodgers’ pitches this season, mostly in the NFL. Rodgers launched 77.1% of his passes on target (pitches that would have hit the intended receiving target), the third in the league.
Rodgers became the third player in NFL history with two seasons of 44 touchdown passes, joining Peyton Manning and Dan Marino. He ended his 29th career game with four pass touchdowns, the fourth most since 1950. Rodgers is the only defender in NFL history with several seasons of more than 40 touchdowns and less than 10 interceptions, accomplishing the feat three times (2011, 2016, 2020). He won the MVP award in 2011 for reaching that mark.
MVP odds
Rodgers took the lead in the MVP race, according to the William Hill Sportsbook oddsmakers. Rodgers entered Week 16 with a +190 chance of winning the MVP with Mahomes as a favorite at -240. Those chances reached 180 after Mahomes was just 24 out of 44 (54.6%) for 278 yards with two touchdowns and an interception (rating 79.5) while the Kansas City Chiefs screamed for the Atlanta Falcons. Kansas City made its 10th comeback in the fourth quarter in 2020, breaking the NFL record for comeback wins in the Super Bowl era.
How much have the MVP odds changed? Let’s just say that Rodgers is clearly the favorite for the past week.
- Aaron Rodgers (-220)
- Patrick Mahomes (+180)
- Josh Allen (+1400)
- Derrick Henry (+5000)
- Davante Adams (+7500)
Mahomes was at -350 for the prize after Week 12, while Rodgers was at +500. Rodgers completed 76.03% of his passes in December for 959 yards with 11 touchdowns for an interception (rating 125.3), while Mahomes completed 60% of his passes for 1,243 yards with eight touchdowns for four interceptions (rating 89, 5). Rodgers’ hot month – along with the Packers taking the starting position at the conference – is why he is the MVP of choice for chancemakers.
If Rodgers has a good end to the regular season in Week 17, a third MVP prize will be added to his trophy box.