Fresh off a 348-yard performance while leading the New England Patriots to a memorable 37-31 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in this year’s AFC Championship Game, quarterback Tom Brady has emerged as a +110 favorite to claim Super Bowl MVP honors for a record fifth time on the Super Bowl prop bets at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Brady has been key to the Patriots’ resurgence since the team lost three of five games late in the season. The 41-year-old has thrown seven total touchdown passes while powering New England, the favorite on the early Super Bowl odds, to four straight victories and the team’s third straight Super Bowl appearance in next Sunday’s game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The five-time Super Bowl champion has been particularly prolific in his past two Super Sunday appearances. Brady set a new Super Bowl record with 505 passing yards and threw for three scores in last year’s 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles after connecting for 466 yards and two touchdowns in the Patriots’ 34-28 comeback victory over Atlanta two years ago.
Brady also has enjoyed historical success against the Rams, throwing seven total touchdowns in three straight victories.
Not surprisingly, Brady’s closest competition on the Super Bowl MVP odds comes from Rams passer Jared Goff, who closely trails at +225 to earn the MVP award in his first Super Bowl appearance.
Selected first overall in the 2016 NFL Draft, Goff enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in 2018, finishing among the NFL leaders with 4,688 passing yards and 32 touchdowns. With the Rams offense leaning heavily on rushers Todd Gurley and CJ Anderson, Goff was kept out of the end zone and limited to just 186 passing yards in the Rams’ 30-22 win over Dallas on Divisional Playoff weekend, but threw for 297 yards and one score in last weekend’s controversial 26-23 overtime win in New Orleans.
Further down the Super Bowl MVP odds at sports betting sites, Gurley lags at +1100, ahead of Patriots rookie rusher Sony Michel at +1500, with Anderson at +2500, behind the Rams’ Aaron Donald at +1800, and Patriots running back James White at +2000.
Gurley led all rushers this season with 17 touchdown runs and has scampered for two scores so far in this postseason. Michel has enjoyed a breakthrough during the playoffs, racking up 242 rushing yards and five touchdowns, and now has topped 100 yards on six occasions this season. Donald has been the anchor of the Rams defense this season, leading the NFL with 20.5 sacks, but has yet take down an opposing passer in the postseason.
