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NFL: Who wins the NFL Championship MVP?

The Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs are set for a showdown in Arizona with the NFL Championship on the line, but who wins the MVP award on the big occasion?

Here we assess some of the contenders for the individual honour on the NFL's biggest night. 

WhatKansas City Chiefs vs Philadelphia Eagles
WhereState Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
When18.30 ET, Sunday February 12th, 2023
How to watchFox Sports & NFL+ app
OddsKC Chiefs +115, PHI Eagles -135

Jalen Hurts +120

Hurts holds all the cards in the NFL Championship MVP race as the quarterback of the favored Philadelphia Eagles, -135 on the Money Line.

He will be playing behind a sturdier offensive line than Patrick Mahomes and appears to have a more explosive wide receiving corps than the Kansas City QB.

Hurts has not really needed to throw that often in the postseason because the Eagles have dismantled their opponents through shear brute force.

But this ought to be a closer contest where the lead changes hands frequently and both quarterbacks will be required to push the ball downfield.

As we saw until his shoulder injury in the regular season, Hurts can do it all.

If he stays relatively mistake-free and the Eagles lift the Lombardi Trophy this year then the MVP award is likely to be heading to a mantelpiece in the Hurts household. 

Patrick Mahomes +137

Mahomes main edge over Hurts is that he's been there, done that, and worn the celebratory t-shirt after the Chiefs' NFL Championship LIV victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

As a third-year pro, he became the youngest player ever to win the award at 24 years and 138 days and only the third QB to do so despite throwing multiple interceptions.

His ability to extend plays and make the 'wow' throws will make him hard to ignore should he perform anything like to his usual standard in a Chiefs win.

Without former favorite target Tyreek Hill this year, Mahomes has been spreading the ball around a lot more, which could help his case and hinder his receivers' chances of being named the MVP.

Mahomes may still be feeling the high ankle sprain he suffered in the Divisional Round by the time the game comes around, although he looked mobile enough on it last Sunday and has two weeks now to rest up.

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Travis Kelce +850

Kelce broke the NFL's postseason record for receptions by a tight end with 14 against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional Round.

The Chiefs' star is now Mahomes' favorite target by a wide margin and should figure heavily in Andy Reid's offensive game plan against Philadelphia.

At 33 years of age, he shows no signs of slowing down and can still be relied upon for those all-important yards after the catch around the first-down marker.

AJ Brown +1200

Could another wide receiver overshadow the winning quarterback on NFL Championship Sunday? The advantage that wideouts have in MVP consideration is that they very rarely make costly mistakes such as interceptions or fumbles.

Brown entered the season with a bang following his offseason trade from the Tennessee Titans, setting a franchise record for the most receiving yards in a player's debut in Week 1.

But his production has dropped off latterly with the wideout making only seven grabs on 14 targets in the postseason.

DeVonta Smith +2500

At greater than double the odds of Brown, Smith must be considered some value in the MVP market as he enters the game with one more postseason catch, a significantly greater catch percentage and a higher snap count over the season.

The two-time college football national champion and Heisman Trophy winner is also capable of some of the spectacular catches that even Brown might not haul in.

His one-handed snag that set the Eagles up for their first touchdown of the NFC title game actually should not have counted, but it was still a thing of beauty.

Chris Jones +5000

Jones put in one of the best defensive performances of any player this season in Kansas City's AFC Championship win.

Delivering big play-after-play, he hounded Joe Burrow throughout despite the Bengals' often doubling up to try and stop him from collapsing the pocket.

His pressure created the hotly-disputed intentional grounding call on Burrow after the two-minute warning and his second sack of the game forced the Bengals' punt, which led to the Chiefs' game-winning drive.

Jones' performance was just the fourth instance this season of a player racking up 10 pressures, five quarterback hits and 2.0 sacks in a game, and he was also responsible for one of the other three.

Last Sunday's game at Arrowhead Stadium was the first time in six years that any player had tallied 2.0 sacks and five QB hits in a playoff game.

The reason why he's +5000 after that? The Eagles' offensive line he will be facing later this month is much better than Cincinnati's.

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