SI: Patrick Mahomes Is Clearly the NFL’s Most Valuable Player

[Hammock Parties]

https://www.si.com/nfl/2022/12/24/pa...-nfl-mvp-award

Patrick Mahomes is the NFL’s most valuable player, which means he should be the NFL’s Most Valuable Player—straightforward logic that does not always apply to awards voting. The MVP is not just a vote held at the end of the season; it’s a discussion topic starting in September, for better or worse, and so it gets treated like a dramatic show instead of an honest assessment of players’ worths. Mahomes is the league’s best player. He is the most valuable to his team. That should really be all the discussion we need.

This was clear yet again Saturday, when the entire league took an ice bath and Mahomes, predictably, performed his usual individual medley of brilliance. He was the main reason the Chiefs built a 17–0 lead over the Seahawks before winning, 24–10. He is the main reason the Chiefs are now 12–3 and could play in their third Super Bowl in four years. Don’t punish him because he has done this before.

Mahomes sealed the win over the Seahawks with three daggers. He stepped up under pressure and fired a fastball into Travis Kelce’s hands for 20 yards. He hit an open Kelce again for 52 more. A few plays later, on third down, Mahomes scrambled right and dove for the end zone, on the kind of play that so often ends with you thinking the player has scored when in fact a knee or elbow made contact with the ground. But because Mahomes’s body control is not of this world, he somehow managed to rest all his weight on his left hand while his body was horizontal, allowing him to slap the pylon with the football for a touchdown. It was one of those Mahomes plays that really should make you think, “Good God, imagine if Peyton Manning ever even tried to do something like that,” but Mahomes is so casually brilliant that we just sort of shrug.

Mahomes has made a career of making the incredible look routine.

Mahomes is the rightful MVP. Can we use a little common sense here? Statistically, visually, adjusting for context—however you do the math, the answer is Mahomes. When the Chiefs traded the most explosive receiver in the league, Tyreek Hill, they were betting on Mahomes making up the difference, and it was an extremely safe bet. His leading rusher is Isiah Pacheco. His two best wide receivers, Juju Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdez-Scantling, are familiar names to fans, but the Steelers and Packers are two of the league’s better-run organizations, and they were willing to let those two guys go without much of a fight.

Let’s not make this more complicated than it needs to be. Is there anybody outside of Philadelphia—or even in Philadelphia—who would seriously rather have Jalen Hurts than Mahomes? This is not a knock on Hurts! He has been great. “I’d rather have Patrick Mahomes” is not an insult. But come on. Put Mahomes on the Eagles, and they would still be having the best season of any team. Put Hurts on the Chiefs, and there would be a dropoff.


Hurts is the Narrative MVP. He is the hot name, the fresh story. Hurts bringing the Eagles back into title contention is a much more interesting story than Mahomes keeping the Chiefs there. This does not mean Hurts is actually a more valuable player than Mahomes.

Dollar for dollar, Hurts—who is still on his rookie deal—is more valuable than Mahomes. But the award is Most Valuable Player, not Most Valuable Contract. The contractual difference between the two of them actually helps explain why Mahomes has been more valuable. Hurts’s low salary gives the Eagles roughly $40 million more to spend on the rest of the roster. This difference is partly why the Eagles were able to add an elite receiver (A.J. Brown) last spring while the Chiefs decided to trade Hill rather than sign him to an extension. Eagles executive Howie Roseman has savvily built the NFL’s most complete team around Hurts.

The Bills’ Josh Allen has also been terrific, and you could make an argument—based on a larger body of work than Hurts has produced—that you would rather have Allen on your team than Mahomes. But Mahomes has been better this year. Allen has a larger margin for error and at times has been a little too eager to take advantage of it.

Who else? Tua Tagavailoa is having a wonderful year, validating the belief many of us had in him when he came out of Alabama, but he’s obviously not as good as Mahomes, no matter what Hill said in the offseason. Micah Parson is a game-wrecker, but he is not as valuable as Mahomes.

MVP debates are fun, but sometimes they are so much fun that the argument overwhelms common sense. You see this in every sport. Voters get numb to perennial greatness and bend over backward to justify voting for somebody other than the best player. Michael Jordan won five MVP awards and should have won more. LeBron James has won four and should have won more. (Baseball voters used to be the worst at voting for the story instead of the best player, but they have become so stat-conscious that they don’t do that nearly as much anymore.)

Mahomes has won one MVP award—in 2018, his first season as Kansas City’s starter. He was the fresh story and the best player in the league that year. Now his numbers are not quite as incredible, but he is probably a better player, because he has learned to manage risk without trying to eliminate it entirely. His two interceptions against the Bills this year illustrated the point. Buffalo made great defensive plays, but Mahomes said afterward he can live with that. There are a lot of great players in the NFL. Mahomes has been the best of them, and he should be MVP.

[KC_Connection]

The Bills’ Josh Allen has also been terrific, and you could make an argument—based on a larger body of work than Hurts has produced—that you would rather have Allen on your team than Mahomes.

Sure, you could make that argument, but it would also make you a moron.

[notorious]

Dude needs to be punched in the face for mentioning Tua.

[wbbonneriii]

He (PM 15) is totally the MVP and it isn’t close.

He has the worst talent around him of the top 8 teams, has his team in position for the 1 seed, and has like double the yards and TDs as Hurts…the eagles have so much talent around Hurts…#2 should be Allen and #3 Burrow…

Hurts isn’t even in the Top 6 of QBs behind Patrick, Allen, Burrow, Herbert, Tua, Lawrence, etc…you should be top 1-3 at your position to even be in consideration for MVP!

[Oh Snap]

Originally Posted by wbbonneriii

He (PM 15) is totally the MVP and it isn’t close.

He has the worst talent around him of the top 8 teams, has his team in position for the 1 seed, and has like double the yards and TDs as Hurts…the eagles have so much talent around Hurts…#2 should be Allen and #3 Burrow…

Hurts isn’t even in the Top 6 of QBs behind Patrick, Allen, Burrow, Herbert, Tua, Lawrence, etc…you should be top 1-3 at your position to even be in consideration for MVP!

Hurts is lamar jackson of 2019...just a shittier passer and a better runner. 3400 passing yards and 22 passing TDs isn't impressive. Teams seemingly playing the eagles without a QB spy and QB contain are flirting with disaster


When you make Hurts play actual QB, he's very average.

[notorious]

If I'm starting a franchise it's Mahomes #1, Allen #2 and Burrow #3.

Nobody else is even worth looking at.

[tredadda]

Originally Posted by notorious

If I'm starting a franchise it's Mahomes #1, Allen #2 and Burrow #3.

Nobody else is even worth looking at.

Yup. Zero doubts that they are not only the three best young QBs and players in the league and in that order.

[St. Patty's Fire]

Originally Posted by notorious

If I'm starting a franchise it's Mahomes #1, Allen #2 and Burrow #3.

Nobody else is even worth looking at.

im starting to think id rather have burrow than allen

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by St. Patty's Fire

im starting to think id rather have burrow than allen

Burrow also won't suck when hes 32. It's unfortunate hes a douchebag though. Allen is actually a cool dude.

[mkp785]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Burrow also won't suck when hes 32. It's unfortunate hes a douchebag though. Allen is actually a cool dude.

Allen is a doucebag and a whiney one at that. Burrow is much more likeable.

[JPH83]

Originally Posted by mkp785

Allen is a doucebag and a whiney one at that. Burrow is much more likeable.

Nah Burrow has the smuggest face on earth. They're probably both decent dudes but Burrow is getting the Brady treatment now, lucky as hell.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by mkp785

Allen is a doucebag and a whiney one at that. Burrow is much more likeable.

Allen’s pretty likeable. Other fans see mahomes as whiny too. All the best QBs whine about calls. Burrow is smug and cocky as shit. But yeah, respect the hell out of his talent and he’s definitely better than Allen at this point.

[crispystl]

Originally Posted by mkp785

Allen is a doucebag and a whiney one at that. Burrow is much more likeable.

Yeah I kinda like Burrow’s smug cockiness. If you can back it…then


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by St. Patty's Fire

im starting to think id rather have burrow than allen

Burrow, unfortunately, seems to have a killer instinct that shows up at the biggest moments.

Allen is great, but he hasn’t had that signature postseason win yet to showcase that.

[DRM08]

Originally Posted by Chiefspants

Burrow, unfortunately, seems to have a killer instinct that shows up at the biggest moments.

Allen is great, but he hasn’t had that signature postseason win yet to showcase that.

Burrow was carried by his defense in the playoffs last year. Check this out:

https://www.espn.com/nfl/qbr/_/season/2021/seasontype/3