“Both of Joe Burrow’s starting offensive tackles are out,” Parsons said to begin his lengthy rant on the MVP race. “Orlando Brown’s out, Trent Brown’s out. So, he’s doing this with a— pretty much— scrapped-up, pieced-together offensive line. And— pretty much— a scrapped-up, pieced-together defense. He— without a doubt— should be MVP. He has taken this team from 4-8 to 8-8 and a chance to solidify in playoffs. This is not just a walk-in-the-park season. He’s having a historical season. I think if they go to the playoffs, I don’t think any team will want to see the Bengals.

“[Joe Burrow] looks unstoppable right now, his timing, precision, everything. I think if you ask anybody in the league right now, this ain’t just me. We talk about it in the locker room. We said, ‘Joe Burrow is the best quarterback we faced.’

And we played [Lamar Jackson] this year. Now, we played him early. I get that. And the time we played Joe Burrow, he was in rhythm. But, you can ask anybody on the team.

We said Joe Burrow is the best quarterback in the National Football League this year without a doubt. So, when it comes to MVP, he’s there. I get the [Josh Allen] argument. It’s there. But, Lamar has beaten seven playoff teams. Josh beaten two. So, it has to be between Lamar and Joe Burrow. I get the Josh argument. I’m a Josh Allen fan. I think he’s dope.

I think he’s a monster of a quarterback. He’s one of the more unstoppable. But, right now, Joe Burrow and Lamar are on a whole other level. I don’t even think it’s close.”

Now, looking at all three quarterbacks through 17 weeks of the NFL season, this is how each one stacks up statistically.

Josh Allen: 63.6% completion, 3,731 passing yards, 28 passing TDs, 6 INTs, 531 rushing yards, 12 rushing TDs
Joe Burrow: 69.8% completion, 4,641 passing yards, 42 passing TDs, 8 INTs, 202 rushing yards, 2 rushing TDs
Lamar Jackson: 67.9% completion, 3,955 passing yards, 39 passing TDs, 4 INTs, 852 rushing yards, 4 rushing TDs

So, when looking at how each quarterback compares, Burrow has the best stat line. He leads the league in completion (423), attempts (606), passing yards (4,641), passing touchdowns (42), and passing yards per game (290.1).

However, MVP isn’t about which player was the best offensive performer. Sometimes it can be, but the MVP stands for Most Valuable Player. The key word in that is valuable.

Though Burrow played at an incredible level, it’s clear that his value wasn’t enough to make a serious difference with the Bengals, as they could miss the playoffs.

Although Parsons would select Burrow if he had a vote, the race appears to be between Allen and Jackson.