NFL MVP stock watch: One of closest races in recent history
By Dustin Baker
2. Patrick Mahomes, QB (Kansas City Chiefs)
Last Week’s Ranking: 2nd
Highest Ranking of Season: 2nd (-1)
2020 Stats: 4,740 Passing Yards, 38 Passing TDs, 6 INT, 66.3% Comp, 108.2 Passer Rating, 2 Rushing TDs
Despite the dropped-interceptions video that is circulating the internet with the sole purpose of cheapening Mahomes’ 2020 accolades, the Chiefs quarterback remains at the No. 2 spot in the MVP Stock Watch. That video is farcical as creating a montage of a player’s near-mistakes is foolhardy.
A video with that agenda could be created for any NFL player or any athlete ever, for that matter. It will take more than a hodgepodge video of miscues to derail Patrick Mahomes.
The saving grace to Mahomes’ MVP campaign at the moment is his team’s win-loss record. Kansas City is 14-1, firmly holding a first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the postseason.
Mahomes’ closest competition for MVP plays on a team that is 12-3. If Mahomes is to win the league’s most prestigious individual award, it will be because of his team’s superiority. Aaron Rodgers bests Mahomes in every meaningful passing metric aside from passing yards per game.
What’s more important? A statistical smidgen deficit from a passing standpoint or team wins? That is what MVP voters will ask themselves in a matter of days. If it is wins, Patrick Mahomes is the 2020 NFL MVP. If it’s numerical and individual superiority, the winner will be Rodgers.
Will anybody outside of the state of Wisconsin bark too profusely if Mahomes wins the thing? Probably not.