The best football player on the planet will be at Acrisure Stadium next Sunday, and he'll be suiting up for Cincinnati.
Joe Burrow, with his Bengals facing playoff elimination and forced to compensate for the NFL's worst defense and one of its leakiest offensive lines, overcame seven sacks Saturday night to beat the Broncos, 30-24 in overtime, and he did so by completing 39 of 49 passes for 412 yards and three touchdowns, capped by this sudden-death dagger to Tee Higgins:
He's the best. I don't want to hear about Josh Allen, Saquon Barkley, Lamar Jackson, Jared Goff, Patrick Mahomes ... because none of them are doing what Burrow's doing. Valuable means valuable. He's almost singlehandedly hoisted his Bengals into final-weekend contention for a playoff berth, which ought to merit his being considered even if they don't make it. He leads the NFL with 4,229 passing yards and is tied with Jackson at 39 touchdown passes. And -- get this -- he keeps adding to a league-record eight consecutive games of 250-plus yards and three touchdowns, as well as a season total of 10.
The only others to achieve the latter -- Tom Brady (2007), Peyton Manning (2013) and Mahomes (2018) -- all would be named MVP that season.
Are we supposed to hold it against Burrow that the Bengals are 8-8? If so, why? Doesn't that make his singular performance that much more impressive toward this singular honor?
Zac Taylor had this to say Saturday to reporters at Paycor Stadium: "I don't know that anybody can stand on the field and watch Joe Burrow and say he's not the best player in the world."
Couldn't agree more emphatically. And it'll be a blessing to watch him yet again next weekend, albeit probably not so much for the home team.
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THE ASYLUM
Dejan Kovacevic
1:14 am - 12.29.2024DowntownDK: One correct choice for MVP
The best football player on the planet will be at Acrisure Stadium next Sunday, and he'll be suiting up for Cincinnati.
Joe Burrow, with his Bengals facing playoff elimination and forced to compensate for the NFL's worst defense and one of its leakiest offensive lines, overcame seven sacks Saturday night to beat the Broncos, 30-24 in overtime, and he did so by completing 39 of 49 passes for 412 yards and three touchdowns, capped by this sudden-death dagger to Tee Higgins:
He's the best. I don't want to hear about Josh Allen, Saquon Barkley, Lamar Jackson, Jared Goff, Patrick Mahomes ... because none of them are doing what Burrow's doing. Valuable means valuable. He's almost singlehandedly hoisted his Bengals into final-weekend contention for a playoff berth, which ought to merit his being considered even if they don't make it. He leads the NFL with 4,229 passing yards and is tied with Jackson at 39 touchdown passes. And -- get this -- he keeps adding to a league-record eight consecutive games of 250-plus yards and three touchdowns, as well as a season total of 10.
The only others to achieve the latter -- Tom Brady (2007), Peyton Manning (2013) and Mahomes (2018) -- all would be named MVP that season.
Are we supposed to hold it against Burrow that the Bengals are 8-8? If so, why? Doesn't that make his singular performance that much more impressive toward this singular honor?
Zac Taylor had this to say Saturday to reporters at Paycor Stadium: "I don't know that anybody can stand on the field and watch Joe Burrow and say he's not the best player in the world."
Couldn't agree more emphatically. And it'll be a blessing to watch him yet again next weekend, albeit probably not so much for the home team.
Want to participate in our comments?
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Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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