Why Joe Burrow has to be the MVP frontrunner over Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson

Joe Burrow is located in the middle of one of the the best seasons of his career in which he may be the most valuable player to his team in the NFL right now. It’s a tight race where he’s the real contender.

But there is just one small thing about the way Barrow has spoken publicly in the past. It’s the fact that league MVP usually goes to a quarterback who not only performs at an elite level, but whose team also performs at an equally elite level.

In addition, he will have to jump over the quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens Lamar Jackson and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

It’s no secret that the Bengals struggled through the regular season despite bright spots like wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and Burrow, who left Saturday’s contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers after completing just over 70 percent of his passes for 4,918 yards with 43 touchdowns . And, if nothing else, Barrow had one of the most remarkably smooth transitions from the college level to the NFL level in history.

Joe Burrow deserves serious consideration, if not awarded, the MVP award even with his team does not make the postseason.

Joe Burrow does a lot with a little

The Bengals now hold a 9-8 record after a 19-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Burrow was candid about how he was affected by some of the shortcomings of the people around him and how he was in a team that struggled to find success game-in and game-out in a recent interview with Cam Netvon on ESPN.

“I’m proud of the season I had,” Barrow told Newton. “I would like to win the MVP at some point in my career.” This year is probably not that year just because of how our season went. I think I deserve it, but the MVP award usually goes to the quarterback of the best team, and that’s not us this year.

However, he is proud of his personal performance.

“This year, I’d say I haven’t started slow,” Barrow said in an interview. “I felt like I came out ready to go and play well and we just weren’t able to get those wins early in the year.” A lot of close games that didn’t go our way, and that’s just the year it was.”

While Barrow had some strong supporting players like Chase around him with other role players, the offensive line was particularly poor and hindered the offense’s progress. And, as cliché as it sounds, it all starts from the beginning. Without a solid offensive line, you cannot have a solid running game or passing game.

Ben Rolfe of the Pro Football Network named the Bengals as has the third-worst offensive line in the NFL, giving them an overall score of D 60.2.

“Joe Barrow didn’t have much support in 2024, either from his defensive or offensive line,” Rolfe wrote. “It seems crazy to think that this line looked terrible, and yet Barrow may have actually mitigated the damage of this group by getting the ball out early when he could (2.71 seconds to throw).”

The unit was also 19th in pressure rate (41.3 percent) and 25th in sack rate (10.3 percent). Simply put, Barrow is almost constantly under duress with what the team has in front of him, and that should be a point of emphasis in fixing it during the offseason.

Joe Burrow wins the table

Sure, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson put up the numbers. They also benefit from developing into true dual-threat quarterbacks who have elite running ability. But let’s not forget the true improvisational ability Burrow brings to the table

Despite some of the shadows that have occurred with Burrough’s supporting cast and the rough road the Bengals have had, there’s no question that he’s shined on his own. So much so that he’s actually quietly the best in the league in a number of different categories.

During the regular season, Barrow had 4,918 yards and an NFL-leading 43 touchdowns. He also boasted the fifth-lowest interception rate, coming in at the same spot in completion percentage.

Barrow also reached several individual milestones, both personally and specifically with the Bengals. But some of them went further than that. One of the most notable of these is the fact that he became the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for 250 yards and more touchdowns in seven consecutive games.

… and Joe Burrow is winning over many for the right reasons

There’s a lot to support Burrow’s case for becoming the league’s MVP. It’s not an unpopular thought at all, it’s just unusual for a player to get the award when his two toughest opponents made the playoffs and he didn’t. It is, in a way, somewhat the same concept as the Heisman Trophy winner year after year who is usually a player on a winning team (as well as almost always a quarterback).

Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons is among those who have Burrow’s back.

“He should be the MVP without a doubt,” Parsons said The Edge with Micah Parsons. For Parsons, the key was the context that Barrow did all that despite injuries to the team’s defense and both of its starting offensive tackles, whose job includes protecting quarterbacks from defenders rushing around the edge of the offensive line.

“He looks unstoppable right now,” Parsons said. “His timing, his precision. Everything. If you ask anyone in the league right now, it’s not just me. We talked about it in the locker room. We said Joe Barrow was the best quarterback we faced. We played Lamar again this year.”

This is what former NFL coach Jon Gruden said in a recent interview Joe Barrow was his choice for MVP.

“I’ve coached quarterbacks and studied quarterbacks for a long time; “I’ve never seen a quarterback play like this,” Gruden said.

Even Barrow’s direct opposition gave him praise in terms of the MVP race. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin hasn’t come out and directly said he believes Barrow should be the MVP right now, but what he said earlier this month was about as good as you could say he’s the league’s most valuable player.

“Joe is putting up MVP-like numbers,” Tomlin said in a press conference. “When you put up numbers like that, everyone has a chance to make a difference.”

That says it all. If Barrow can win league MVP with the Bengals missing the playoffs, he will be the first to do so since O.J. Simpson all the way back in 1973.