Video Vikings offense ‘letting down their defense’, JSN & Seahawks ‘need help’, Joe Burrow for MVP? | FTF Nick Wright, Chris Broussard, Kevin Wildes, and Danny Parkins analyze some cool stats entering Week 9, including the Minnesota Vikings needing better performances from their offense, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and the Seattle Seahawks needing some help, and Joe Burrow’s MVP pace.
After it was over, and one of the local Madrid reporters asked Joe Burrow if he had a message for the audience in Spanish, the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback was finally stumped on Sunday.
"I don't have anything for you," Burrow offered red-faced.
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No problem, because Burrow made a different kind of statement at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium: He put the NFL on notice he's the MVP favorite.
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Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals celebrates a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens during the third quarter in the game at M&T Bank Stadium on Nov. 27, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Burrow threw three touchdown passes and ran for another touchdown in a convincing 34-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
Burrow missed on only five passes while throwing for 271 yards. And that was more than solid. But context is everything and as this season goes, the context is much more impressive.
He has accounted for 18 touchdowns in his last four games.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) calls a play in the second half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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His passer rating is 132.0 in those four combined games.
"I loved putting on a show for the people of Spain and was happy to be here," Burrow said afterward in English.
The show in Spain is just one of 17 acts Burrow and the Bengals must perform this regular season and if one starts mathing what has happened with how that projects over a 17-game season, the MVP talk gets quite loud.
At his current eight-game pace, Burrow would project over 17 games to:
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) throws a pass against Baltimore Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy (53) during the second half at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, on Nov. 27, 2025. (Mitch Stringer/Imagn Images)
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And, no, this is not a prediction of what is about to happen. The Bengals are about to find themselves in some very difficult matchups against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs and probably the Carolina Panthers.
But they've done some significant damage already this season and the passing attack that includes Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins is the most complete in the NFL.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow speaks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
"We've just played together for so long now," Burrow said. "We're coming up on 10 years playing together. So, you know, when you do that, you develop that connection mentally that nothing needs to be said."
This needs to be said: The only thing we believe can contain Burrow and that Cincinnati offense is an injury to the quarterback.
We say this because that's what history has said unequivocally. That history is something Bengals fans hate to recall.
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But it is there, including in two of the last three seasons.
You can open your eyes again, Who Dey, folks. None of this is meant to slime Burrow or predict something terrible.
It is, however, predicting that if Burrow can stay healthy, he's got that MVP award within reach. That's how it definitely sounded after Sunday's dismantling of the Falcons' defense.
"We didn't score on every single possession," Burrow said. "So ,there's plenty to improve on."
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