Is Troy Aikman right about this player?

During Monday night’s Lions-49ers game, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman set off a firestorm.

The three-time Super Bowl champion and Hall of Famer weighed in on this year’s NFL MVP chase.

Conventional wisdom has it between Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson. Aikman chose a different option.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.

His remarks sparked an immediate debate over on Twitter/X. Shannon Sharpe even offered a dissent.

But is Aikman wrong?

Is Joe The Way To Go?

Allen has led Buffalo to a 13-3 mark this year.

The Bills have won the AFC East. Buffalo has secured the No. 2 seed, no matter the outcome of Sunday’s game.

Jackson has the Ravens at 11-5. But they need to beat Cleveland on Saturday to wrap up the AFC North and the No. 3 seed.

Or, have Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals beat Pittsburgh Saturday night should the Ravens lose.

Burrow, meanwhile, has the Bengals at 8-8 and they need a win to stay alive for the final wild card playoff spot.

Even with a Saturday win, Cincinnati needs Sunday afternoon losses by the Broncos against the Chiefs and the Dolphins against the Jets.

The chances of the Bengals making the playoffs is 15%. Burrow is the reason why they even have any chance at all.

Last Saturday, Burrow refused to let his team lose to the Broncos. He engineered a season-saving drive for the overtime win.

He’s been doing that a lot this year, especially down the stretch.

By The Numbers

Among the three quarterbacks. Burrow is clearly the best numbers-wise, if not by wins.

The LSU alum has thrown for an NFL-high 4,641 yards, 42 touchdowns and just eight interceptions.

Jackson is sixth in the NFL in passing yards with 3,955. He’s had 39 touchdowns and just four interceptions.

Allen is 10th with 3,731 yards and 28 touchdowns. He’s only thrown six interceptions.

Of course, Allen and Jackson have the added threat of running the ball.

Jackson has 852 yards and four touchdowns. Allen has 531 yards and 12 scores.

Burrow has just 202 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The Cowboys can attest to how worthy all three players are of the award.

Allen and the Bills steamrolled Dallas late last year. Jackson dominated in a Ravens win earlier.

Burrow lit up the Cowboys defense for 369 yards and three touchdowns less than a month ago.

The Overlooked

While the internet raged over the Burrow over Lamar and Josh debate, there are two players who should be in the conversation.

Saquon Barkley and Jared Goff.

Barkley is just 100 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s 1984 record for single-season rushing yards. He is the reason why the Eagles have the No. 2 seed and 13 wins.

If he plays against the Giants on Sunday, he’ll likely get the record.

He should get a lot of consideration for the MVP award too.

And both Barkley and Goff have rolled the Cowboys this year.

As for Goff, he has the Lions in position to secure the No. 1 seed with a win at home on Sunday night over the Vikings.

Goff has thrown for 4,398 yards, 36 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions. Five of those picks came in a single game. And the Lions still won that game.

The Cal alum is having a career year and has a very good chance to bring home the Lions’ first Super Bowl win this year.

Like Barkley, he should receive the lion’s share (see what I did there?) of the MVP vote.

Who Is The MVP?

Like Aikman, I don’t have a vote.

Aikman has stated that if he did, he’d vote for Burrow. He’s probably not wrong.

Burrow’s candidacy does need a playoff appearance though.

If I did have a vote, I’d be flipping back-and-forth between Barkley and Goff.

If Goff secures the top seed with a solid effort on Sunday night, I’d vote for him. If he doesn’t and the Vikings win?

Then my vote would have to go to Barkley, especially if he breaks Dickerson’s record.

Because without Barkley, the Eagles aren’t the NFC East champions and the second-best team in the NFC.

Which makes him pretty valuable, the “V” in MVP, if you will.