The NFL MVP award was the subject of much discussion through the end of 2021 and into 2022. The race this season was especially intriguing, as no QB took a firm grasp of the award during the year. Additionally, a wide receiver and a running back pushed hard to break the quarterback dominance of this award. Nonetheless, let’s take a look at who won the NFL MVP award for the 2021-2022 NFL season.
Aaron Rodgers won the 2021-2022 NFL MVP award
Aaron Rodgers taking home the NFL MVP award is special for a couple of reasons. First, he joins a select club of players to have won the award in back-to-back seasons. Additionally, he moved into second place in terms of the most MVP awards won on his own (4). As it stands, Rodgers is just one award behind former Colts and Broncos QB Peyton Manning — who won the award five times.
Rodgers’ 2021 season did not light up the NFL the way he had the year before. However, he still led the league in four categories that are often highly cited by voters for the award. Rodgers led the league in touchdown rate (7%), interception rate (0.8%), passer rating (111.9), and QB rating (69.2). It was the second straight year he led the league in all those categories and his fourth consecutive year leading the league in interception rate.
Tom Brady was the nearest challenger to Rodgers
When you look at the award voting for the 2021 NFL season, Brady was the only other player to receive double-digit votes for the NFL MVP award. Statistically, Brady had a superior season to Rodgers in terms of passing yards and touchdowns. However, Brady also threw the ball 180 more times this season than Rodgers did.
While Brady did lead the league in yards per game, he trailed Rodgers in yards per attempt. Furthermore, Brady threw 12 interceptions at a 1.7% interception rate. While the volume and counting stats supported Brady, Rodgers edged him in the key rate stats to take home the award.
Who else received votes for the NFL MVP award?
Despite a groundswell of support for both Cooper Kupp and Jonathan Taylor, it did not materialize when it came to the voting. 49 of the 50 votes were handed to the two quarterbacks, with just one solitary voter giving his nod to Kupp. Kupp finished the season with 1,947 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns on 145 receptions. He would take home the Offensive Player of the Year award at the 2022 NFL Honors ceremony.
Taylor had a superb year, but his lack of votes likely reflects the feeling that the running back position is heavily dependent on the play of others. The 23-year-old carried the ball 332 times for 1,811 yards and 18 touchdowns. He added another 40 receptions for 360 yards and 2 touchdowns. That saw him finish the season with 2,171 total yards and 20 total touchdowns. The fact that Derrick Henry did not receive a single vote for the NFL MVP award in 2020-21 was a bad sign for Taylor’s chances when he did not reach that much-discussed 2,000-yard mark.