OPINION: Is the star on Dak Prescott’s helmet the reason he isn’t in MVP discussions?
Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images
DALLAS (PSF) - As we are nearing the end of the 2023 season in the NFL, the race for the league’s Most Valuable Player award hasn’t been as enticing as usual.
The candidates that we are used to seeing in the running, like Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Bengals QB Joe Burrow and Bills QB Josh Allen are not statistically having the best seasons for a variety of reasons, ranging from lack of receiving threats, lackluster playcalling or missing most of the season due to injuries.
The top three candidates at time of writing are Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill, 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, and Eagles QB Jalen Hurts. I am not sure if there has been a weaker MVP race than this one before. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is having the best season out of any quarterback in the league up to this point. The real question must be asked, is the star on Prescott’s helmet why he isn’t being viewed as the MVP?
Let’s go over the other candidates’ numbers and how they match up to criteria eleven games into the season.
Starting with Hill, one of the most valuable non-quarterbacks in the league, and arguably the best wide receiver in the league as well. Hill currently sits at 88 receptions, 1,324 receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns. He is on pace for over 130 receptions and 2,000 yards. Those are video game numbers for a wide receiver, and when it comes to how Hill’s team is performing, they are currently 8-3 and one win behind the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Hill makes a perfect candidate for the MVP, unfortunately though, but he does not play at the quarterback position, and no non-QB has won the award since 2012, when Vikings RB Adrian Peterson lit the league on fire. If Rams WR Cooper Kupp didn’t win it in 2021 having the triple crown (leading all receivers in catches, yards, and touchdowns), then I do not see any other wide receiver having a chance.
Next up is McCaffrey (CMC), one of the most dynamic players in the league and undoubtedly the NFL’s best running back. CMC leads all running backs in rushing yards by a large margin and will likely finish as the rushing king. The best part about CMC’s game is his abilities out of the backfield catching the ball. CMC has put up 939 rushing yards, 11 rushing touchdowns, 48 receptions, 389 receiving yards, and 5 receiving touchdowns. As I said before, a very dynamic player. The 49ers would not be a top-tier team in the league if it wasn’t for CMC. At 8-3, leading the NFC West, and 2nd overall in the NFC, McCaffrey meets all the criteria for that regarding the award. Some fans have argued this season that CMC is the most valuable player, in terms of the best player in the NFL.
Now i Hurts, currently favored to win the MVP and is the quarterback for the team with the best record in league, with the Philadelphia Eagles at 10-1. I think there is a lot of bias towards Hurts, as he played phenomenal in a Super Bowl loss last year. The media wants a revenge type of season, but if we really dive deep into Jalen Hurts’s stats and the other players on his team, then what is he doing better than these other guys to win the MVP. Through eleven games, Hurts has a 67.6 completion percentage, 2,697 passing yards, and a 18/10 touchdown/interception ratio. Now, before people get all angry and mention his eleven “rushing” touchdowns. I will say that 11 one yard “tush-pushes” are not as impressive as you might think. Hurts very clearly has the best offensive line in the league, as they have been the most dominant unit the last few seasons. He has two All-Pro caliber wide receivers in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, a very good running back in DeAndre Swift, and the best defensive line in the league by a large margin as well. Now, I get that a lot of good quarterbacks have a lot of very good weapons around them, but if you watch an Eagles game, there isn’t anything about Jalen Hurts’s game that stands out, meaning he could be replaced by just about ten other quarterbacks and the Eagles would be just as successful.
This is where Prescott comes into play. Prescott has bounced back enormously after a disappointing season last year, where he led the league in interceptions despite missing six games due to injury. Prescott currently has a 70.0 completion percentage, 2,935 passing yards, a 23/6 touchdown to interception ratio, a 107.4 passer rating, and a QBR of 75.3. Each of these statistical categories all fall within top three amongst quarterbacks for Dak. The Cowboys are also 8-3 and are second in their division, obviously behind the Eagles. Prescott is also the highest graded quarterback in the league, per PFF. I know what everyone is going to say, “what about the San Francisco game in Week 5?” A game at the beginning of the season, where yes, Prescott played about as horrible as he could, should not play a factor into the rest of the performances he is putting up. A big thing the media and NFL fans have against the Cowboys this season is the 0-2 record against teams over .500, which is absolutely hilarious to me because how is Dak supposed to be in charge of his teams schedule? Even in the loss to the Eagles a few weeks ago, Prescott still shredded that defense, throwing for over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns. While Dallas did lose that game, they really got unlucky because of two inches combined on two different plays. If you want to say Dak and the Cowboys beat up on bad teams below .500, then fine, but Dallas’s next six games are teams all .500 or better; vs Seattle, vs Philadelphia, @ Buffalo, @ Miami, and vs Detroit. What if Dak and the Cowboys win out that stretch while Prescott is still putting up huge numbers, then would the opinions change?
The national hate from the media and fans across the NFL has to stop against Dallas. You can hate their fan base as much as you want, but when players from the Cowboys are having career years, there shouldn’t be a bias towards them in that regard. So, to all the talk show hosts and media members on Fox Sports and ESPN that for who in the world knows why, has an MVP or All-Pro vote. I ask that you do your job without bias and get the hate for the star on the helmet out of your hearts.