Surprise NFL MVP Candidate Leads Initial Pro Bowl Voting

Originally posted on The Cold Wire | By Steven Kubitza | Last updated 11/24/21

The 2021 NFL season has been a whirlwind and we are still only entering Week 12.

The MVP race remains wide open and so much so that a running back could seize the award.

Derrick Henry entered the year as the one running back who could likely compete in the MVP race.

Now that he is out with an injury, Jonathan Taylor has assumed that role.

The Indianapolis Colts runner finished Sunday with 185 rushing yards and five total touchdowns in a blowout win over the Buffalo Bills.

Taylor leads the NFL in rushing and is the only back over 1,000 yards on the year.

The fact the Colts are 6-5 bolsters his case as well.

What Taylor has done is boost himself into the national spotlight and that has led him to be atop the leaderboard of the initial Pro Bowl voting results.

1st in rushing yards.

1st in Pro Bowl voting.

— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) November 24, 2021

This is quite the achievement for the second-year player out of Wisconsin.

A Dominant Run

Taylor has been playing out of his mind in the month of November.

He has gone for well over 100 yards in all three games so far and has eight total touchdowns in that span.

Most importantly, the Colts have won all three games to get right back into the AFC playoff race.

The win against Buffalo proved why Taylor has risen in the MVP conversation.

Jonathan Taylor is the MVP.

Everybody else needs to just understand that.

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 21, 2021

Carson Wentz only had 11 completions for 106 yards and one touchdown.

There was no need for him to throw often because of how Taylor was dominating on the ground.

That is true MVP-level play and is what Henry has done for the Tennessee Titans when healthy.

Taylor rising to that level in a year when no quarterback is seizing the MVP race could mean he is the first running back to win the award since Adrian Peterson did so in 2012.

Even if he doesn’t win, he is headed to the Pro Bowl for sure as a nice consolation.

This article first appeared on The Cold Wire and was syndicated with permission.

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