Could Joe Burrow be NFL MVP if the Bengals make 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 inked 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 need to beat the Broncos in Week 17, the Broncos to lose the remainder of their game and the Colts and Dolphins to each lose as well.

It might be unlikely, but it isn’t unthinkable. 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 unbelievable season. They were 1-5 at some point or 1-4. They play Denver this weekend, who’s ahead of them, they beat Denver, that means that they’ll play Week 18 versus Pittsburgh and if they beat Pittsburgh, I know they need the Colts and Dolphins (to lose once). If they get in, Joe Burrow can absolutely, have a seat at that table,” Orlovsky said on ESPN’s Get Up.

Burrow has thrown for at least three touchdowns in six straight games and has eclipsed 350 yards in three of those as well. He is currently leading 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 doesn’t do Burrow’s phenomenal stats justice. One would have to look back to Boomer Esiason in 1988 for a Cincinnati player who won MVP. Let’s hope Burrow can break that drought in the coming weeks.