Joe Burrow knows he should be in the NFL MVP conversation this year and should be a frontrunner. Unfortunately, it’s an award given to players on winning teams. The Cincinnati Bengals aren’t quite in the winning category.
While they’ve strung together enough wins to stay in playoff contention through the final game of the year, they haven’t won enough to reward their franchise quarterback with the league’s most prominent, individual award.
And Burrow was clearly not happy to talk about it. He tossed the game-winning touchdown pass last Saturday to help the Bengals defeat the Denver Broncos. Then he trotted off the field to Paycor Stadium chanting MVP in his honor.
It was a reminder of just how good he was this season. But how the Bengals catapulted his shot at the NFL’s highest award. It was a frustrating reminder of how this season went awry for Burrow and the Bengals.
Joe Burrow might be one of the most qualified to win MVP, but his team held him back this season
What Burrow has done this season has drifted into the abyss of the NFL storylines. He has the most passing yards of any quarterback this season with 4,621 yards. He has the most passing touchdowns with 42. He has just eight interceptions thrown, including nine games with no interceptions at all.
It’s a season that if the Bengals were winning their division and not pleading for a Miami Dolphins and Broncos loss in Week 18, he’d undoubtedly be one of the top names mentioned for MVP.
Unfortunately, players on losing teams, and certainly teams that are on the outside of the playoff bubble, can’t be MVPs. Because to be an MVP, you lead your team to wins. Burrow, while doing everything he can, can’t seem to get the win.
The Bengals’ kickers have missed game-winning attempts, his defense couldn’t hold a bucket of water. Everything out of his control is hindering him from winning his first MVP. And it’s unfortunate.
“It is what it is,” Burrow said after practice on Monday, per a video Olivia Ray posted to her X platform account. “That’s how it’s voted. I don’t necessarily disagree with it.”
Because Burrow knows how important winning is. Just because he has the stats, if the team isn’t winning it means nothing. He was one play away from winning the Super Bowl in his second season. He won a national championship at LSU in his final collegiate season.
He played for a state championship in high school. Burrow’s DNA is all about winning. So he’s frustrated because he’s doing everything he can and still coming up short. He respects the process because losing doesn’t reward you.