Chris Simms Says Joe ‘The Assassin’ Burrow Would Have Won NFL MVP Last Season if the Bengals Were Good Enough

In an ideal world, if the NFL MVP were decided purely based on stats, Joe Burrow would have been the undisputed winner for the 2024 season. But with the Cincinnati Bengals finishing 9-8, just shy of a playoff berth, the narrative quickly faded. He was ranked fourth in the voting, receiving no first-place votes.

Burrow racked up 82 points from the voters, while the winner, Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills, accumulated 383. Lamar Jackson (2nd in voting) received 362, while Saquon Barkley (3rd) finished with 120.

That said, NFL analyst Chris Simms isn’t having it. On the latest episode of Chris Simms Unbuttoned, he made it clear that if Burrow had gotten even a sliver more help from his defense or offensive line, he would’ve been the league’s Most Valuable Player, not any of the other three.

“The guy could have been the MVP of football last year if somebody else just would have helped him on the team a little bit. Maybe they could have played defense,” Simms started.

Despite being sacked 48 times, Burrow nearly hit the 5,000-yard passing mark and threw 43 touchdowns to just 9 interceptions. With numbers like that, despite a shambolic O-line in front of him, it’s no wonder Simms placed him at No. 3 in his 2025 quarterback rankings, even ahead of Patrick Mahomes. And just behind Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson.

Naturally, Simms had no shortage of praise for Burrow’s abilities: “If you want to look for perfect in-the-pocket quarterback play… you look at Joe Burrow.”

The former NFL QB went so far as to call Burrow the prototype for West Coast offense QBs, saying, “You want to learn how to play quarterback in the West Coast offense? Let’s watch Joe Burrow because it’s perfection.”

Furthermore, what awed Simms the most about the Bengals QB was his rare ability to stay composed in chaos. “I’m always impressed with the fact that he still keeps his eyes down the field within the middle of the scrum with bodies all around him. That’s where he’s really special.”

Why Joe Burrow edges out other pocket passers?

In comparing Burrow to Justin Herbert, Chris Simms pointed out that the Bills QB’s escapability and field awareness are the differentiator between the two: “Burrow doesn’t take a lot of negative plays. Even for the amount of pressure he’s under, it’s amazing how much he gets the ball out of his hands and still makes positives.”

When speaking on the topic of Burrow’s perceived lack of experimentation and improvisation during plays, like Patrick Mahomes does, the analyst simply labelled it as a privilege that the Bengals star can’t afford. “They’re going to go score on your defense the next drive. So you have to score 30.”

Simms also noted Burrow’s “top five or six” arm strength, surgical accuracy, and rare discipline in decision-making.

Despite the near-endless praise for the Bengals’ talisman, the NBC analyst didn’t shy away from offering a few minor critiques either. “It seems like it takes them until Week 5 to be Joe Burrow every year,” he said, referencing the Bengals’ frequent slow starts.

After laying out all this context on Burrow, Simms himself admitted that calling the Bengals star just the third-best QB might actually be a crime. Would you disagree?