2022 NFL MVP odds: Patrick Mahomes takes overtakes Josh Allen as betting favorite

Buffalo's Josh Allen entered the regular season as the +600 favorite at Caesars Sportsbook to win the NFL MVP and while his odds are now +550, Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the 2018 winner, is the new favorite at +500 after an impressive outing in Arizona on Sunday.

I'll fully admit that I thought Mahomes would seriously miss traded All-Pro receiver Tyreek Hill -- and maybe he still will, but Mahomes looked as good as ever againt the Cardinals. He completed 30 of his 39 passes for 360 yards and five touchdowns in the 44-21 victory. The Chiefs scored touchdowns on each of their first three possessions and the game was essentially over at that point. Mahomes completed passes to 10 different receivers – he warned us Fantasy-wise that it was going to be a collective effort without Hill. Kansas City had a whopping 33 first downs on its 66 offensive plays.

"All offseason, everyone's asked us the questions about what's this offense going to look like," Mahomes said. "I always felt like we were going to go out there and put on a show, and we did that."

It was the sixth five-TD game of Mahomes' career, making him only the sixth quarterback in league history to record six or more games with at least five TD passes. He joined Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Dan Marino on that list, doing so in only his 64th career game. All the others played in at least 240 games before reaching that mark. Mahomes also became the first quarterback in NFL history to record three or more touchdown passes in five consecutive season openers (2018-22).

Mahomes injured his left (non-throwing) wrist on the first of his TD passes but says he feels a lot better today. The Chiefs host the Chargers and another MVP candidate in Justin Herbert (+700) on Thursday in the first regular-season Amazon Prime Video NFL game. Kansas City would not be -4 if oddsmakers thought Mahomes might sit. He's also now the +400 favorite to lead the NFL in passing yards (and currently does).

Allen had two picks in last Thursday's win at the Rams but one was not his fault, and he was 26-for-31 with three TD passes and rushed for a score. Buffalo hosts Tennessee on Monday.

No other player is below +1200 for NFL MVP. 

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