Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is now co-favorite to win NFL MVP – Pro Football Network
Cincinnati Bengals Quarterback Joe Burrow is now listed as one of the favorites to win the 2023 NFL MVP, according to PointsBet Sportsbook.
According to Max Meyer, senior editor at PointsBet, reigning Kansas City Chiefs MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen opened as +650 co-favorites. Allen hit +700 on March 22, and no one had matched Mahomes until Burrow last Saturday at +650.
Meyer added that Burrow is the leader in MVP bets at 17.7%, and has drawn more than twice as much money as Mahomes. Allen currently ranks third at +700 while Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts is fourth at +950.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes Co-Favorites for 2023 NFL MVP
Burrow and Mahomes have met in the last two AFC Championship games, splitting the pairing with the Bengals winning 27-24 in overtime in 2021 before falling to the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI while the Chiefs they beat the Bengals 24-21 last season.
Overall, Burrow is 3-1 against Mahomes with a pair of comeback wins in the 2021 and 2022 regular seasons.
The teams will renew what is becoming one of the best rivalries in the league when they meet again in Week 16 of this season in Kansas City.
That head-to-head history, plus the Bengals’ improved offensive line, notably improved by pulling Orlando Brown Jr. from the Chiefs to protect Burrow’s blind side, is a big reason Burrow deserves to be considered a co-star. favorite to win the prize.
But it will take more than another regular-season win against Mahomes, who was also MVP in 2018 and also has a pair of Super Bowl MVP awards, for Burrow to win the award in 2023.
Burrow posted fantastic numbers in each of the last two seasons with 34 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 4,611 yards and an NFL-best 70.4% completion rate in 2021, followed by 35 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and 4,475 yards while completing 68.3% of his pass
However, he was little more than an afterthought among voters, finishing fourth last year with 128 polling points.
That was the first season in which the NFL used a weighted voting system for first-, second-, and third-place picks. Prior to that, each of the 50 voters submitted only one name, and Burrow did not receive a single vote in 2021 despite leading the Bengals to the Super Bowl.
Burrow is bidding to become the third player in Bengals history to win MVP. Boomer Esiason won the award in 1988, while Ken Anderson captured it in 1981. Both quarterbacks led the Bengals to Super Bowls in those seasons before losing to the San Francisco 49ers.
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