One night before the Super Bowl, the best of the NFL gather in Tampa at the Straz Center to award the 2020-2021 NFL MVP trophy. Seemingly, it looks like a race between two people where a couple of other quarterbacks hang in the running for the award.
2020 has witnessed many leading performers. However, it takes solid consistency to stand out from the rest. If we trace NFL history, we see that since 1961, players other than QB (quarterback) have won the MVP trophy merely sixteen times. The last non-QB winner was Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings) back in 2012. This factor indicates that for winning the award, playing quarterback can be of great help. With quarterbacks dominating the ballots, it is safe to assume that the NFL MVP 2020-2021 awards won’t be any different.
Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers has been sensational this football season by ending the season with 48 touchdowns while throwing for above 4,200 yards and five fantastic interceptions. If we were to rank him, he ranks first in quarterbacks, 7th in passing yards, and 1st in touchdowns. We can’t help but wonder whether Green Bay drafted Jordan Love in the first round to make Aaron Rodgers live out his full potential with the subsequent touchdowns.
While leading his team to a record of 13-3, Aaron Rodgers secured the home-field advantage of having the NFC Champion go through Lambeau Field. Undoubtedly, Rodgers has played the second-best best football season of his NFL career. Rodgers, aged 37, is still achieving career-leading scores. Regarding the upcoming coronation, his performance of Week17 has proven icing to the cake. If Aaron Rodgers wins the MVP trophy, he will be the 6th player to have won the trophy three times in the history of the NFL. The other five NFL MVP award winners (three times or more) are Brett Favre, Jim Brown, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Johnny Unitas.
Patrick Mahomes
In 2020, Patrick Mahomes had a phenomenal football season as he led the Chiefs to the top record of 14-2. In 2020, Patrick Mahomes threw more than 4,700 passing yards. He may have been 83 yards behind Deshaun Watson. However, we cannot take his performance for granted as he didn’t even perform in Week 17. Suppose Patrick Mahomes had played in Week 17, it would have more likely been his best season as he would have certainly beaten his score of 5,097. With 38 touchdowns, Mahomes ranks fourth in the NFL. While ranking second in quarterbacks (82.9), Patrick Mahomes stays in the third position with his passer rating of 198.
The Compelling Case of Josh Allen
We can’t help but wonder whether Josh Allen did enough to earn the MVP trophy for 2020-2021. Undoubtedly, Josh Allen’s case is a compelling one as he raised the bars of his completion percentage to 69.1%. His touchdowns record rests at 37 now while he led the Bills to their best NFL record of 13-3 (since 1991). While ending the football season with eight touchdowns and 421 yards, Allen has 4,544 passing yards under his belt.
