It’s common knowledge around the NFL that Houston Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud posted one of the best regular seasons by a first-year gunslinger in the league’s 100-plus year existence. Stroud, alongside new head coach DeMeco Ryans, quickly turned around a floundering franchise that had yet to win more than four games in three seasons. They made the postseason for the first time since 2019, had a positive point differential a year after going -131 in that department, and did it all with just three Pro Bowlers on the roster.
Stroud received his flowers, winning AP Offensive Rookie of the Year over the super-talented Puka Nacua, but finishing eighth in AP MVP voting is a shame, given his performance. Stroud turned a franchise around in his first season while having three game-winning drives, leading the league in passing yards per game, posting a 100.8 quarterback rating and a league-low 1.0 interceptions rating, and somehow, someway, finishing eighth? Why? Was his competition that much better?
Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson: Wins 2023 MVP
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson won his second career MVP earlier this month after leading his team to a remarkable 13-3 record as a starter. He completed a career-high 67% of his passes for 3,678 yards, 24 touchdowns, and seven picks. He had one fourth-quarter comeback while never leading a game-winning drive. The dual-threat Jackson also ran for 821 yards and five scores while posting a 102.7 quarterback rating, the fourth-best among starters.
All said and done, Jackson did not lead the NFL in any singular statistic, compiled only 29 touchdowns against 13 turnovers, and finished outside the top ten in passing yards and touchdowns. What he did do was throw seven touchdowns in his last two games, but he still fell well short of his historical and downright ludicrous 2019 season when he led the league in passing touchdowns and broke the single-season record for rushing yards as a quarterback.
In a season where Kansas City Chiefs megastar Patrick Mahomes posted career-worst numbers and elite gunslingers like Joe Burrow and Aaron Rodgers suffered season-ending injuries, Jackson’s numbers deserved MVP consideration. But he also played with the best defense in the NFL regarding points per game allowed. And sure, a good offense benefits the defense. With Jackson and the Ravens scoring 28.4 points per game, they kept their defensive unit fresh while limiting advantageous scoring opportunities for the other team.
Still, San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey led the league in scrimmage yards (2,023) and touchdowns (21). In contrast, Miami’s Tyreek Hill led the NFL in receiving yards (1,799) and touchdowns (13), but neither indeed sniffed the MVP Award, meaning the accolade is more quarterback-centric than ever.
With the NFL all but publically announcing the MVP Award goes to the league’s top quarterback after the snubbing of Hill and McCaffrey, did the five-person group of Jackson, Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy, Josh Allen, and Patrick Mahomes truly best Stroud in 2023?
Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud: Deserved a Long Look for NFL MVP
In a typical year, this wouldn’t even be a debate with Texans rookie sensation C.J. Stroud throwing for only 23 touchdowns. However, the question has to be asked when the winner only throws for 24 scores in one more game: did C.J. Stroud deserve to win AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and NFL MVP?
Again, if this is 2014 when all three quarterback MVP vote-getters threw for at least 33 touchdowns, this isn’t up for debate, but it’s not 2014. Only three quarterbacks to receive MVP votes posted at least 30 total touchdowns last season: Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy, and Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen. All three played with a top-five defense, respectively.
Only Prescott joined a team that did not make the playoffs the year before his rookie campaign, yet that was mainly due to a season-ending injury to his predecessor, Tony Romo. The media brushed off much of Purdy’s accomplishments this season because of an elite support cast, while Prescott received criticism for not performing well in big games. Meanwhile, although Allen posted monster statistical numbers, he had a ridiculous 22 turnovers.
That leaves just Patrick Mahomes, who led Kansas City to their third Super Bowl victory during his already Hall of Fame career. However, postseason stats don’t get cooked into MVP consideration, or he would have won his third such award, while Lamar Jackson most likely wouldn’t have received a single first-place vote. However, Mahomes had an uncharacteristic 27 passing touchdowns to 14 turnovers in the regular season. Less than two passing scores per game and fewer than two touchdowns per pick won’t work for MVP votes, even in a known down season. Like Allen, Prescott, and Purdy, Mahomes played with an elite defense last year.
C.J. Stroud Should Have Made NFL History: Joining Jim Brown as Only Rookie to win MVP
So, back to C.J. Stroud. He finished fourth among MVP vote-getters in QB rating, first in passing yards per game, and first in lowest interception percentage. Meanwhile, only Josh Allen had more game-winning drives. Different from the other quarterback vote-getters, Stroud played with a good, not great, defense. They were outside the top ten in points and yards allowed. While a solid first-year unit under defensive-minded head coach DeMeco Ryans, they were closer to the New York Giants, who parted ways with their DC, than the league-leading Baltimore Ravens regarding points allowed.
After all, MVP stands for “Most Valuable Player,” and it seems without a top-ten defense and only two Pro Bowl teammates, C.J. Stroud puts the value in MVP. Unlike his peers, he took over a bottom-dwelling team. He did not play alongside a top-ten defense. Additionally, Stroud posted stats similar to those of all his competitors. It might not be the popular take, but C.J. Stroud deserved to be in MVP discussions all season. A near five-to-one touchdown to interception ratio, multiple game-winning drives, and taking a team from worst to first is an MVP-worthy cause, but not when it’s a popularity contest.
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