Joe Burrow is still long-shot to win MVP but a win over Patrick Mahomes would help
At this point, even with six games remaining this season, the MVP conversation has grown a little stale. It feels as though Patrick Mahomes, who Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals face this Sunday evening, is the clear frontrunner.
FanDuel has Mahomes as the favorite to be crowned MVP with -140 odds. Jalen Hurts is in second with +350 odds, Tua Tagovailoa is in the three-spot with +600 odds, and then there's Josh Allen, the frontrunner at the start of the season, with +1100 odds.
After those four gentlemen, Burrow has the next-best odds with +1500. At one point, the Bengals signal-caller had +2800 odds to win MVP and fans kind of stopped talking about it as a possibility. Now, however, he still has a fighting chance to win the coveted award.
Can Joe Burrow still be crowned MVP?
While Burrow is still certainly a long-shot to win MVP, it's not impossible for him to get to that point and he can start his serious quest for the title with a win over Mahomes this weekend. Bengals fans like to point to Burrow being 2-0 against Mahomes and sometimes talking smack against the QB in KC but there's no debating that Mahomes has been incredible this year.
The Chiefs quarterback has tossed for 3,585 yards, 29 touchdowns, and eight interceptions through 11 starts this year. He's done all of this without having Tyreek Hill, who the Chiefs flipped to Miami in the offseason. Mahomes being able to prove that he can still put together a dominant season without one of his top two weapons is reason enough to keep him in the MVP conversation.
Now let's discuss Burrow's 2022 season so far. After a slow start to the season that saw him throwing four interceptions in the first game, he's settled in, tossing the same number of picks through 10 games. On the year, Joey Franchise has 3,160 yards, 23 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. As you can see, he and Mahomes are tied in interceptions but otherwise, the Chiefs' signal-caller has the edge in the other stats.
Even a head-to-head win over Mahomes won't guarantee Burrow a chance to move up in the standings but it certainly couldn't hurt. Allen and the Bills knocked off Mahomes and the Chiefs in Week 6 and Allen's MVP stock has dipped since then.
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As I mentioned above, it's doubtful that Burrow ends up winning MVP this year unless Mahomes collapses down the stretch. Beating the Chiefs this weekend, however, could propel Burrow's MVP odds.