Cincinnati Bengals

Should Joe Burrow have won NFL MVP over Aaron Rodgers?

Published Feb. 11, 2022 5:02 p.m. ET

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Did Joe Burrow deserve more love than he got in this year's MVP vote?

Absolutely, if you ask Colin Cowherd.

On Friday's "The Herd," Cowherd broke down why he believes the Cincinnati Bengals QB is the real NFL MVP over this year's actual winner — Aaron Rodgers — and what the award should really be called.

"Joe Burrow did not finish in the top three, and I think it's absolutely ridiculous," Cowherd said. 

"Aaron is great. Nobody is questioning that. I'm really not anti-Aaron or [Tom] Brady, but what does valuable mean? Let's just be honest. This is not the most valuable player award. It's a stat award, and the people in the media that vote on the NBA MVP and the NFL MVP, they don't know what valuable means. Let's call this award the 'Most Impressive Statistical Season: MISS.' This was a big, big miss. 

Colin Cowherd: Joe Burrow deserved the MVP

Aaron Rodgers was crowned MVP of the league, but Colin Cowherd thinks Cincinnati Bengals Joe Burrow deserved the title. Watch as he lays out why Burrow's postseason run made him more deserving of the award.

"If you wanna judge somebody on value, what was the place before they got there, and what is it now with their presence? The Bengals were a laughingstock, cheap and completely irrelevant in Ohio. The [Cleveland] Browns and Ohio State [were] more credible, and [the Bengals] won that division. The Packers have been historic and consistent and smart and stable before Aaron and during Aaron. In terms of valuable, it's not close," Cowherd continued.

"You can't count the playoffs, which is absurd in itself since all these careers are defined by postseason success. That's why we consider [Troy] Aikman better than [Dan] Marino — because he got trophies, and he got rings. But this should be noted. Burrow won more playoff games this year than Aaron Rodgers has won in the last five years. I know that doesn't count for the award, but next year when you vote on this thing, take into consideration the playoff run. I know you're not supposed to. You probably should. …  I think [Burrow] got totally hosed."

Although he didn't take home the MVP award, Burrow was named Comeback Player of the Year, leading Cincinnati to Super Bowl LVI after a season-ending ACL tear wrecked the end of his rookie season in 2020. 

He's the first Bengal to ever win the award, beating out Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott by a vote of 28-21. The 25-year-old QB also won "Unstoppable Performance of the Year" for his incredible 34-31 comeback win against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17.

Burrow finished the regular season having completed 70.4% of his passes for 4,611 yards — sixth-most among QBs —  and a 34/14 touchdown/interception ratio. 

In the postseason, he completed 75 of 109 passes (68.8%) for 842 yards, two TDs and a pair of INTs. 

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National Football League

Cincinnati Bengals

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Aaron Rodgers

NFL - Los Angeles Rams vs. Cincinnati Bengals - 02/13/2022

Colin Cowherd

The Herd with Colin Cowherd