Could Joe Burrow be the NFL MVP if the Bengals made the NFL Playoffs?

The Cincinnati Bengals have had a terrible season. With preseason Super Bowl expectations, the team has consistently come up short in games they should have won.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t bode well for having an NFL MVP, as team success is part of the equation. However, Cincinnati is getting a career year from superstar quarterback Joe Burrow, who has signed an extension to be the highest-paid player in the NFL in 2023.

Burrow’s Bengals are still unlikely to make the playoffs, but there is a statistical chance. They will have to beat the Broncos in week 17, the Broncos to lose the rest of their games and the Colts and Dolphins for each loss as well.

It may be unlikely, but it is not inconceivable. That said, if they do get in, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky is buying stock in Burrow for MVP.

“I think if Cincinnati gets in, Joe Burrow absolutely has a case. He’s having an incredible season. They were 1-5 at one point or 1-4. They play Denver this weekend, who’s ahead of them, they beat denver that means they have to play week 18 against pittsburgh and if they beat pittsburgh i know they need the colts and dolphins (to lose once) if they get in, joe burrow absolutely can have a seat at that table,” Orlovsky said on ESPN’s Stand up.

Burrow has thrown for at least three touchdowns in six straight games and has also surpassed 350 yards in three of them. He currently leads the league in passing yards with 4,229 and passing touchdowns with 39, the latter of which is already the most of his career.

However, the team’s 7-8 record does not do justice to Burrow’s phenomenal statistics. You had to look back to Boomer Esiason in 1988 for a Cincinnati player to win MVP. Let’s hope Burrow can break that drought in the coming weeks.