Rodgers, LaFleur Emerge as Betting Favorites for Top Awards

GREEN BAY, Wis. – To the victors go the spoils.

If the Green Bay Packers close the regular season with victories against Minnesota on Sunday night and at Detroit in the finale, they’ll not only get the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs but they might sweep the NFL’s top awards.

In the latest odds at FanDuel, Aaron Rodgers has become the runaway favorite to win his fourth NFL MVP. Rodgers is -175 to win the award, followed by Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor at +700. Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen and Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes are tied for fourth at +1000.

Rodgers, who was +1000 to open the season and after testing positive for COVID, and Brady were co-favorites last week. This marks the first time this season that Rodgers is the outright favorite.

Meanwhile, Matt LaFleur for the first time is the favorite to win Coach of the Year at FanDue l. At +150, LaFleur has a slim lead over the Indianapolis Colts’ Frank Reich (+350), Cincinnati Bengals’ Zac Taylor (+700) and New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick (+800). Belichick had been the favorite for a big chunk of the season but his team has dropped two straight.

It will be a fascinating vote.

LaFleur guided the Packers to 13-win seasons in 2019 and 2020 and has the reigning MVP as his quarterback. Winning is the expectation, though he’s guided the Packers to a 12-3 mark this year without All-Pros David Bakhtiari and Jaire Alexander and Pro Bowlers Za’Darius Smith and Elgton Jenkins for much of the season.

Reich led the Colts to 11 wins last season and will have to win the remaining games to match that figure this season. His offense is almost wholly dependent on Taylor and the offensive line. Taylor has turned around the AFC North-leading Bengals, who went 4-11-1 last season for their fifth consecutive losing campaign. And Belichick has the Patriots tied for first place in the AFC East behind rookie quarterback Mac Jones.

“I think there’s a lot of things that make a good coach,” LaFleur said last week. “I think first of all, it starts with, as a person, investing in the player. I think first and foremost, you’ve got to care about your players. I think you’ve got to be able to communicate at a high level. I think you’ve got to be able to listen to your players. And I think you better know what you’re talking about. You better be able to help these guys, whether it’s with technique, Xs and Os, everything that plays into that, in order to help them become the best version of themselves.”

With the victory over Cleveland on Christmas, LaFleur improved his three-year record to 38-8. That is tied with George Seifert for the most wins in a coach's first three seasons in NFL history.

It will be an interesting vote for MVP, too. Rodgers leads the NFL in passer rating (by 5.8 points over Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow), touchdown percentage and interception percentage. He’s led an injury-ravaged team to the best record in the league. However, will some voters penalize him for his stance on COVID? Brady leads the NFL in passing yards and passing touchdowns and has the Bucs in the thick of the Super Bowl race. Taylor leads the NFL in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.

Did you know Matt LaFleur’s teams are 17-5 in games decided by one score? That .773 winning percentage is the best in the NFL. For some context, the #Packers have played the 19th-most one-score games but have the third-most wins and the fewest losses. https://t.co/Uff9vNqt2k
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) December 25, 2021

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