Patrick Mahomes is going to have to settle for second place in this year’s NFL Most Valuable Player voting with the announcement that Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was awarded this year’s trophy instead. Perhaps another Super Bowl appearance will help stomach the news.
The NFL awarded all of its annual hardware on Saturday at their NFL Honors show, broadcast the day before the Super Bowl each season, and Rodgers walked away with the league’s MVP award on Saturday night, as expected. It was Rodgers’ third win in the category during his prolific NFL career with previous wins in both 2011 and 2014. Rodgers was already bound for Canton and a well-deserved place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but this third award only makes his longevity that much more impressive.
Rodgers enjoyed a banner season with the Packers in 2020, who as a team fell in the NFC Championship to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Rodgers led all quarterbacks in touchdowns (48), completion percentage (70.7 percent), passer rating (128.1), QBR (84.3) and several other categories. He threw only 5 interceptions on the year, which also led the NFL with best interception percentage.
As for Mahomes, he led the Chiefs to a 14-2 record and another Super Bowl appearance in a bid to repeat as champions. He led the NFL in yards per game with 316 and finished with 38 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions as well with a completion rate of 66.3 percent.
Mahomes won the Super Bowl MVP last season with his performance in a comeback win over the San Francisco 49ers, and that award came on the heels of Mahomes’ incredible debut season as a starter in which he eclipsed both 50 touchdowns and 5,000 passing yards in a single year, making him the second quarterback ever to do so. He won the NFL’s MVP award in 2018 in response.
Mahomes will hope to earn his secondd consecutive Super Bowl ring and MVP trophy in the biggest game when the Chiefs take the field against the Buccaneers on Sunday evening in Super Bowl LV.