NFL Insider Reveals Why Aaron Donald Didn't Win Super Bowl MVP

All throughout the two weeks leading up to Super Bowl 56 in Los Angeles, the common narrative surrounding the game was how Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals' offensive line would hold up to Aaron Donald and the L.A. Rams' pass rush.

The Rams were third in the NFL in sack percentage, but only blitzed the 23rd-most of all 32 teams in the league. L.A. all year long was able to generate enough pressure from their defensive front without having to leave players open in the secondary.

That storyline discussed over the course of multiple weeks led the Super Bowl MVP futures market to move Donald to be one of the most popular picks from both the public and sharps. Over at WynnBET Sportsbook, Donald at +1600 odds (bet $100 to win $1600) took in 23% of the betting tickets, but 36.8% of the total handle.

Despite two sacks, two tackles for losses and taking on multiple double and triple-teams throughout the night from the Bengals' offensive line, Donald lost out on the award to teammate Cooper Kupp, who finished the night with eight catches for 92 yards and two scores, including the game winner with 1:25 left to play.

The NFL's Flaw That Prevented Donald from Winning Super Bowl MVP

While it's difficult to make a serious claim that Kupp was not deserving of the award following his sensational performance down the stretch, there's been an ongoing discussion that the timing of the voting played a role in Kupp over Donald.

According to longtime NFL reporter Charean Williams, Donald would have likely claimed the award had votes been collected immediately following the end of the Super Bowl, rather than at the 2-minute warning.

Personally, I was rooting for Donald to get the edge over Kupp as I had jumped in on a Super Bowl MVP ticket for him as well. Kupp also failed to clear his projected receptions and yards prop bet total despite his victory, finishing a catch and 14.5 yards short of his numbers at WynnBET.

BetSided's Donnavan Smoot would have also taken home a big victory in BetSided's NFL Super Bowl Bets Draft, but fell short with a couple of bad beats along the way; particularly with Odell Beckham Jr. getting hurt, and a missed extra point by Rams kicker Matt Gay that would have put the first half total at 24.