The NFL MVP award is decided before the start of the playoffs, but some would argue the award should be decided after the Super Bowl.
When is the best time to determine the NFL MVP? The Super Bowl is still a week away, and even the most passionate fans and pundits can only say so much over 14 days about two teams and one game. We’ve already discussed strengths and weaknesses of both Super Bowl teams. The storylines surrounding the big game are public knowledge. At this point, we’re practically begging for media day so we can be entertained by something new.
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Maybe it’s just that the New England Patriots versus the Atlanta Falcons doesn’t make for intriguing sports talk a week ahead of time, but it seems discussions about when votes should be cast for NFL MVP are louder this year than during any previous Super Bowl week. That may have something to do with the fact that two legitimate MVP candidates will square off for the Lombardi Trophy in Houston.
Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan is going to win NFL MVP. It’s happening. Quarterbacks are almost always favorites to win MVP before, during and after seasons, and Ryan was arguably the best overall QB in the NFL over a 16-game stretch. Ryan has strengthened his case to win MVP during the playoffs, as he has tossed seven touchdowns and has a rating of 132.6 across two games.
Ryan’s counterpart at Super Bowl LI is Tom Brady. Brady missed the first four games of the year serving a (ridiculous) Deflategate-related suspension, but he nevertheless matched 28 touchdown passes with only a pair of interceptions during the regular season. Brady is on the cusp of starting in his seventh Super Bowl, and a win over the Falcons would cement his status as the greatest to ever play the position.
Say, for the sake of argument, Brady outduels Ryan in a Super Bowl for the ages. Maybe, in this scenario, Brady throws for four touchdown passes, including one tossed in the final 30 seconds of the game to clinch the championship for the Patriots. Brady would obviously be named Super Bowl MVP, but the question would also have to be asked: Wouldn’t Brady, in accomplishing this feat, have proven he was more valuable than Ryan for the entire season?
Previously, I’ve explained why I voted New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. for NFL MVP for the 2016 season. Beckham carried the New York offense for no fewer than four games. There’s no doubt, none whatsoever, the Giants wouldn’t have qualified for the postseason let alone finished the campaign at 11-5 if not for Beckham’s heroics. I estimated Beckham was worth roughly 3-4 wins for New York in 2016.
Then came New York’s playoff game versus the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Beckham dropped a TD pass in the first quarter, and was a non-factor in Big Blue’s blowout loss. In short, my MVP vote looked to be worth less than spending an afternoon on a boat in Miami.
Recently when a sports talk radio host mention the idea of postponing votes for MVP and other NFL awards until after the Super Bowl, the notion was quickly dismissed. There are regular season awards, and there is also a Super Bowl MVP—no big deal.
However, why then do I not offer my MVP vote (as do many others) for a player who isn’t on a postseason team. When some argued in January 2015 Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt deserved to win MVP for that season, many pointed out the Texans didn’t make the playoffs. Thus, Watt’s value to his team was lower when compared to those still playing meaningful football after Week 17.
In total, 12 teams qualify for the NFL Playoffs under the league’s current rules. Is it really that scorching a take to suggest the league’s MVP for any given season should come from one of those 12 clubs? If we were to agree NFL MVP should always come from a playoff team, wouldn’t it then make sense that MVP voting should occur after a champion is crowned on Super Bowl Sunday?
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It must be noted I’m not suggesting the Super Bowl MVP is automatically NFL MVP. Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton won NFL MVP for the 2016 season, but he was outplayed by Super Bowl MVP Von Miller on the last Sunday of the campaign. Newton nevertheless would’ve earned his MVP award following Super Bowl 50 because he was the NFL’s best overall player from Week 1 through Feb. 7, 2016.
There is, of course, no perfect system for determining NFL MVP, but pushing voting back to February could make things more interesting and perhaps even easier.