Mahomes, Jackson open NFL season with clash of MVP favourites
Published
When the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens step on the field to kick off a new NFL season on Thursday, quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson will both begin campaigns in search of their third AP NFL MVP awards.
Mahomes, 28, earned the league's most coveted individual award after the 2018 and '22 seasons, while the 27-year-old Jackson took home the honour after the '19 and '23 seasons.
The pair are two of just 11 players in NFL history to earn multiple MVP awards - and a third trophy on the shelf this year would vault either to territory shared by only six players.
The list of players to earn three or more MVP awards in their career includes Tom Brady (2007, '10, '17), Brett Favre (1995, '96, '97), Johnny Unitas (1959, '64, '67) and running back Jim Brown (1957, '58, '65), the only non-quarterback to ever win the award more than once.
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers won four MVP awards as a member of the Green Bay Packers in 2011, '14, '20 and '21, and Peyton Manning holds the most awards in league history, with five (2003, '04, '08, '09, '13).
The only players with multiple MVP awards that are not enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame are Rodgers, Brady, Mahomes and Jackson - because none of them are currently eligible.
Per FanDuel oddsmakers, Mahomes is the favourite to add another award to his collection, but there are a host of players with good odds to earn their first ever award.
NFL MVP favourites, per FanDuel
| Player | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Patrick Mahomes | Kansas City Chiefs | +450 |
| Josh Allen | Buffalo Bills | +800 |
| Joe Burrow | Cincinnati Bengals | +1,000 |
| C.J. Stroud | Houston Texans | +1,200 |
| Jalen Hurts | Philadelphia Eagles | +1,200 |
| Jordan Love | Green Bay Packers | +1,400 |
| Lamar Jackson | Baltimore Ravens | +1,600 |
Jackson will have a chance this season to join Brown, Joe Montana, Favre and Manning as the only players in NFL history to earn back-to-back MVP awards this season. Favre won all three of his awards in consecutive seasons.
The seven-year veteran out of Louisville threw for 3,678 yards and 23 touchdowns last season to go with 821 yards rushing and five touchdowns. He led Baltimore to the top seed in the AFC with a 13-4 record.
Rodgers returns on Monday Night Football
On Monday night, the Jets face off with the San Francisco 49ers as Rodgers makes his return to the football field.
The 41-year-old played just four snaps in his first season with the Jets last year before a torn Achilles ended his campaign.
Rodgers is tied for ninth best odds to win his fifth MVP award per FanDuel, at +2,000 entering action on Wednesday, which would leave him tied for the most all-time with Manning.
Rodgers threw for 8,414 yards with 85 touchdowns and only nine interceptions across two MVP seasons in 2021 and '22, but faltered in '23 before missing almost all of last year's season.
Brady is the oldest player ever to win an MVP award at age 40 in 2017, though he also finished second in MVP voting at age 44 in 2021. Rodgers performance for New York on Monday could significantly alter the MVP race in the NFL this year.
Allen tries to bring the award back to Buffalo
Josh Allen has finished in the top 5 in MVP voting three of the past four seasons, and enters this year with the second highest odds to earn his first MVP award.
The seventh-year signal caller threw for 4,306 yards and 29 touchdowns a year ago, and added 15 rushing scores for an NFL-best 44 total touchdowns.
The Buffalo Bills are one of six franchises to have only two MVP winners. Nine teams have only had one, while seven still seek their first MVP winner.
Thurman Thomas earned the most recent MVP for Buffalo back in 1991, and O.J. Simpson earned the other in 1973.
Watch the NFL on TSN and TSN+
The 2024 NFL season kicks off with a bang as TSN and TSN+ will air a total of seven games in Week 1.
The action starts Thursday, Sept. 4 with as the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs host Jackson and the Ravens in the season opener.
One night later, the first of five international games this season features a NFC battle between the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles from Sao Paulo, Brazil on TSN, TSN.ca and the TSN App.
The action will resume with a fully loaded first Sunday of the season, highlighted by the return of NFL RedZone on TSN+.
The week will finish off with a Monday Night Football must-see matchup as Rodgers makes his return with the Jets against the 49ers.