Drew Brees Should Win MVP Over Mahomes, Adelson Explains Why

The National Football League (NFL) 2018-19 regular season concluded after the final round of games on Sunday with the Kansas City Chiefs and the New Orleans Saints taking the top seed in the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference respectively.

The NFL wildcard rounds will begin Saturday with the first game between the Houston Texans and the Indianapolis Colts. But apart from the games – there is also the MVP honors to be decided and it has now come down to two contenders for the regular season MVP prize.

Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs is the favorite and has been leading the betting odds in the last few weeks. The second year quarterback has set some impressive numbers in his first season as a starter for his franchise and is almost everyone’s pick for the MVP.

The 23-year-old became only the second quarterback in NFL history to throw 50 touchdown passes and complete 5,000 passing yards in a single season. Mahomes’ range of throwing and his ability to pick a pass through the most non-existent of gaps has been praised during the course of the season.

The second candidate is Saints’ veteran signal caller Drew Brees, who has also had an incredible season with his team finishing as the top seeds in the NFC. The quarterback may not have a highlight reel like Mahomes, but is certain to get a fair few votes when the time comes to decide the regular season MVP.

Yahoo Sports’ Eric Adelson explains why the Saints quarterback should be given the honor this season ahead of Mahomes despite the 23-year-old being championed by most football experts. Chiefs coach Andy Reid even labeled his young quarterback the MVP after his clinical performance in their final game of the season against the Oakland Raiders which they won 35-3.

Mahomes may have bested Brees when it comes to touchdown passes and passing yards, but there are a number of areas where the veteran has come out ahead of the young quarterback. First up is the pass percent for the season.

Brees completed 74.4 percent of his passes, which is the best in NFL history and he beat his own previous record which was set last season. Only 11 times in NFL history has a quarterback completed more than 70 percent of his passes and Brees has achieved it five of those 11 times.

Adelson points toward a number of other areas that Brees has topped Mahomes this season. The Chiefs quarterback had a 113.8 passer rating, good for top 10 all-time. Brees did better: 115.7. Brees led the league in fourth-quarter comebacks and game-winning drives. Mahomes had 12 interceptions on the season; Brees had five. Mahomes was sacked 26 times to Brees’ 17.

The NFL expert believes the fact that the Saints won more games than the Chiefs should also be taken into account. Mahomes had an expert receiver in Tyrek Hill, while Brees had to make do with inexperienced receivers and in one game threw four touchdown passes to four undrafted players due to injuries to the regulars.

Adelson concludes his argument with one simple line, stating: “If the MVP is the best player on the best regular-season team, the MVP is Brees.”