Joe Burrow has had the best season of his career and currently has the third-best odds to win the MVP award. His team is 8-8 and is in danger of missing the playoffs, so Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen are viewed as much more deserving of winning the MVP.
While covering the Monday Night Football game between the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers, Troy Aikman endorsed the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback for the MVP. The Dallas Cowboys legend mentioned how, if he had a vote for the award, he would vote for Burrow.
Troy Aikman Gets Trolled by Fans for Picking Joe Burrow as NFL’s MVP
Aikman was criticized by fans on social media for picking Burrow as his MVP over Jackson and Allen. The fans do not think the quarterback of an 8-8 team deserves to win the award just because he has had a good statistical season.
Here are some of the reactions:
This is why Troy doesn’t have a vote
— OneKumar (@OneKumar_NFL) December 31, 2024
One fan said, “Troy Aikman is smoking crack. If Burrow is the MVP on a team that won’t even make the playoffs, why isn’t [Sam] Darnold or [Jared] Goff or Baker [Mayfield] not MVP? Burrow has the two best WRs as weapons. Brock Purdy would look like Joe Montana if he had [Ja’Marr] Chase and [Tee] Higgins.”
Troy Aikman must be drug tested for saying Joe Burrow should be MVP. The Bengals are 8-8 with two of the best wide receivers in the league. How does that make sense? #Lions #49ers #NFL #MVPdebate
— What's Da Bizness (@whatsdabizness) December 31, 2024
“Good thing he [Aikman] doesn’t have a vote,” wrote a fan.
“Troy loves the QBs who look and play like him the most,” added a fan.
Troy Aikman says he’d vote for Joe Burrow for MVP which is fine and don’t get me wrong Burrow has had a great year but nothing we haven’t seen before especially with the amount of attempts and an elite WR
— Robert Littal BSO (@BSO) December 31, 2024
Having a wide receiver duo of Higgins and Chase will always help a quarterback put up good passing numbers, but ultimately, the most important thing is the wins.
The Bengals were 4-8 four weeks ago, and an MVP’s team cannot have that type of record at any point in the season. Cincinnati’s defense is one of the worst in the league, but so was the Baltimore Ravens’ defense for the majority of the season.
The Buffalo Bills and the Ravens have a much better record than the Bengals, and their quarterbacks have done well in overcoming adversities, especially Allen, who has the worst supporting cast out of all the MVP candidates this season.
There is no denying that Burrow has had a fantastic season and deserves to win some accolades, but the MVP is usually given to a player with good stats, and his team has an excellent record.
A Division Title Would Have Been Enough for Burrow To Win the MVP
Burrow didn’t need to lead his team to the best record in the NFL to win the MVP award. If the Bengals had won the AFC North division title, the star quarterback would have had a shot at being the most valuable player in the league.
Unfortunately, Cincinnati will finish third in its own division, while the other MVP candidates have already won their divisions or are expected to win it in Week 18.
The Bills have the second-best record in the AFC, and Allen has wins against both the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions. He hasn’t had the best statistical season of his career, but the Bills’ quarterback has played impactful football without making mistakes.
Allen doesn’t have the luxury of playing with receivers like Higgins or Chase and doesn’t even have a running back like Derrick Henry to make things easy for him. The 28-year-old quarterback has always stepped up in the biggest moments, and his team already has five more wins than Burrow’s.
As mentioned earlier, Burrow has put up tremendous numbers this year, but the MVP award is out of the picture for him due to his team’s lack of success this year.