Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson Kick Off NFL Season With MVP Favorites

When the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens take the field on Thursday to kick off the new NFL season, quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson will begin their quest for a third AP NFL MVP award.

Mahomes, 28, earned the league’s most coveted individual honor after the 2018 and 2022 seasons, while Jackson, 27, earned the honor after the 2019 and 2023 seasons.

The pair are two of just 11 players in NFL history to win multiple MVP awards. A third trophy this year would tie each of them with just six players.

The list of players who have won three or more MVP awards in their careers includes Tom Brady (2007, ’10, ’17), Brett Favre (1995, ’96, ’97), Johnny Unitas (1959, ’64, ’67) and quarterback Jim Brown (1957, ’58, ’65), the only non-quarterback to 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, 2014, 2020 and 2021, while Peyton Manning has won the most awards in league history with five (2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2013).

The only players with multiple MVP awards who have not been inducted into the American Football Hall of Fame are Rodgers, Brady, Mahomes and Jackson – because none of them are currently eligible to receive the award.

According to oddsmakers FanDuel, Mahomes is the favorite to win another award, but there are many players with good chances to win their first.

Jackson will have a chance this season to join Brown, Joe Montana, Favre and Manning as the only players in NFL history to win back-to-back MVP awards in a season. Favre won all three of his awards in consecutive seasons.

The seven-year veteran from Louisville threw for 3,678 yards and 23 touchdowns last season, along with 821 rushing yards and five touchdowns, as he led Baltimore to the top of the AFC standings with a 13-4 record.

Rodgers returns to Monday Night Football

The Jets will face the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night, and Rodgers will return to the field.

The 41-year-old played just four snaps in his first season with the Jets last year before a torn Achilles tendon ended his campaign.

Rodgers ranks ninth on FanDuel’s list of best odds to win his fifth MVP award, with odds of +2,000 heading into Wednesday’s game, tying him with Manning for the all-time best odds.

Rodgers threw for 8,414 yards, 85 touchdowns and just nine interceptions in two MVP seasons in 2021 and 2022, but had a slump in 2023 and then missed almost all of last year.

Brady is the oldest player to ever win the 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 change the MVP race in the NFL this year.

Allen tries to bring the bounty back to Buffalo

Josh Allen has finished in the top five in MVP voting three of the last four seasons, and this year he has the second-best chance of winning his first MVP award.

The seventh-year quarterback threw for 4,306 yards and 29 touchdowns, while also scoring 15 rushing touchdowns for an NFL-leading 44.

The Buffalo Bills are one of six franchises with only two MVPs. Nine teams have had just one, while seven are still searching for their first MVP.

Buffalo’s last MVP award was won by Thurman Thomas in 1991, while OJ Simpson received it in 1973.

Watch NFL on TSN and TSN+

The 2024 NFL season is off to a bang as TSN and TSN+ will air a total of seven games in the first week.

The action begins on Thursday, September 4, when the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs host Jackson and the Ravens in their season opener.

A night later, the first of five international games this season will feature the NFC game between the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles from Sao Paulo, Brazil, broadcast on TSN, TSN.ca and the TSN App.

The action will resume on the first Sunday of the season, which will be packed with highlights, headlined by the return of NFL RedZone on TSN+.

The week will wrap up with a can’t-miss game on Monday Night Football as Rodgers returns to the Jets and takes on the 49ers.