Will the Super Bowl Decide the True MVP?
NFL MVP finalists Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes have their eyes set on something bigger than the league's award for the best player as they prepare to face each other in Super Bowl LVII.
Coming out of Championship Sunday victorious, the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs will clash in the first Super Bowl that will feature NFL MVP finalist starting quarterbacks on each side of the ball since the 2016 season with Matt Ryan and Tom Brady in Super Bowl LI. The other MVP finalists from this season are Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, and Justin Jefferson.
Hurts led the Eagles to a 14-1 record as a starter (the team went 0-2 without him) by putting up 3,701 passing yards and 22 passing touchdowns along with 760 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns, with the latter being the most among quarterbacks and tied second most among all players, during the regular season.
Earning the first round bye in the NFC, Philadelphia blitzed through the rest of the playoffs, beating the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers 38-7 and 31-7 respectively.
Mahomes led the Chiefs to a 14-3 record by recording both the most passing yards and the most passing touchdowns this season with 5,250 yards and 41 touchdowns. Also earning a first round bye, Kansas City's path through the AFC consisted of them beating the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cincinnati Bengals 27-20 and 23-20 respectively.
While both quarterbacks are up for the 2022 NFL MVP award, what makes winning the Super Bowl the better prize is that it is the ultimate team award that every player fights for from the beginning of each season.
With football being a team sport, teams go out on the field every week with the goal of winning each game to eventually get to the Super Bowl and etching their team in history, not to win the NFL MVP, which is an individual player award.
While one of the quarterbacks on the field might be the MVP, the true victor will be the quarterback who ends up lifting the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the night.
The 2022 NFL MVP award winner will be announced on Thursday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m. CT and will air live on NBC, Peacock and the NFL Network. The Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs will play in Super Bowl LVII on Sunday, Feb. 12, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The game will start at 5:30 p.m. CT and will air live on FOX.