Many sportsbooks have Joe Burrow as the fresh favorite to win Super Bowl LVII MVP. [Image: Shutterstock.com]
Joe Burrow for Super Bowl MVP
Several top sportswriters have drafted Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow as the new favorite to win the Super Bowl LVII MVP award.
Going from underdogs to favorites
Boro’s odds of falling short coincide with his team going from underdogs to favorites in their imminent showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday. Chief QB Patrick Mahomes came under attack last weekend, raising concerns about how well he and his team could hold out.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy are among the top contenders for the award. Non-QB Player of the Year is likely to be won by Christian McCaffrey.
Mahomes pass
Caesars sportsbook owns Burrow at +330 to win the Super Bowl MVP award. If he does, it will be two Super Bowl appearances, a Super Bowl MVP, and in all likelihood, a Super Bowl trophy in just two years as a full-time starter.
Such a start would be one of the best in NFL history and beyond the likes of Tom Brady, Joe Montana, and other enthusiasts. This would also put him in the league’s MVP conversation, an argument that began and ended with Mahomes (+350 to win Super Bowl MVP).
Mahomes’ ankle still raises doubts
However, winning the Super Bowl MVP title starts with a win over the Chiefs this weekend. Kansas City opened as a 1.5-point favorite at home, but fell to as low as three weak points in some sports with Mahomes’ ankle continuing to cause doubt. The Lines have since fallen to the Bengals as one-point underdogs after Mahomes was fully involved in Wednesday’s practice.
The Bengals have a head start against their team on Sunday. They were 3-0 against Chiefs in the Boro era and, as previously mentioned, knocked them out of the way in the same round last year.
No matter who wins, the Chiefs-Bengals rivalry looks like it could lead the NFL for a decade beyond, much as the Indianapolis Colts-New England Patriots rivalry did in the 2000s.
Consult history books
If the Bengals win this weekend, they will play either the Eagles or the 49ers in the Super Bowl. Regular season performances may indicate that the Eagles are the most likely prospect, but San Francisco is going on a 12-game winning streak and looks almost unstoppable.
Philly QB Hurts, like Mahomes, is +350 to win Super Bowl MVP at Caesars, though two books consider him the absolute favorite. He last played in a decisive game of the 2017 College Football National Championship, where he was stopped in the first half for current Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. However, he has made great strides as a passer since then.
Purdy winning the award would mark the group’s most historic achievement to date. No rookie quarterback, let alone the last pick in the draft, has ever led a team to the Super Bowl. For him to reach and win the Super Bowl and take home the MVP trophy would be unprecedented.
22-33 passing for 263 yards and a touchdown and not turning the ball over
Looking back at last year’s Super Bowl, Burrow didn’t play a bad game. He completed 22-33 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown and did not turn the ball over. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the gas to keep up with a high-flying Rams team that was in a year of fate.
The outcome of this weekend’s championship matches will turn the odds around once the final whistle blows. From then on, bettors will have two weeks to see who they support to win the Super Bowl LVII MVP award.
Quarterbacks have won nine of the last 13 Super Bowl MVP awards, though last year’s wide receiver won two of the last four awards.
