By: Michael Stiffler, @Stiffeezy_ on Twitter
SteelerNation.com
When looking at the NFL MVP award, it has truly lost its meaning. No longer is the award given to the most VALUABLE player, but rather the quarterback with the best stats and highlights on the best team. It isn’t given to a player that is vital to their team’s success and with that said, the award will likely be given to Pat Mahomes from the Kansas City Chiefs. Mahomes is clearly the most talented quarterback in the NFL, I will not dispute that, but if you look at the Chiefs pre-Mahomes, they were still a playoff caliber team. Instead the player who should be the MVP this year is being overlooked and being criticized by Pro Football Focus for “holding his team back”. The NFL MVP should be Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger has completely catapulted the Pittsburgh Steelers into a different stratosphere this year. Last season the Steelers were solely a defensive team that LUCKILY won 8 games. This year, Roethlisberger has helped flip the script, already surpassing last year’s win total in just nine games, and the Steelers are back in the Super Bowl conversation.
Roethlisberger has completely revitalized one of the worst offenses in 2019. Don’t believe me? Look at the stats. The Steelers in 2019 were at the bottom of the league in the redzone. In 40 redzone attempts the 2019 Steelers were only able to produce 14 touchdowns. The 2020 Steelers through NINE games, already have 35 redzone trips and produced 24 touchdowns. They have been twice as efficient when getting inside the 20 and already have scored 10 more touchdowns than the year previous. The 2019 team forced 289 points the whole season, the 2020 team is already at 271 points forced with seven games remaining. The highest point total the 2019 team reached was 27 (twice), and the 2020 team has scored 27 points or more seven times this year. Roethlisberger has helped make this offense wildly more efficient and effective this year compared to the year prior. On an individual level, 2020 has been the best season of Roethlisberger's career. With the current pace he is on, Roethlisberger would end up passing for 4,030 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions. He would have career bests for touchdowns and touchdown to interception ratio. What makes this feat even more remarkable is he just came off major elbow surgery at the age of 38. Not only is he playing well but he has been playing the role of offensive coordinator at times this season, essentially "drawing plays up in the dirt". This has routinely happened this season when the offense needed a spark like the Baltimore Ravens game.
A 38 year old quarterback off major elbow surgery, is having a career season, on pace for nearly 40 touchdowns, currently has his team at a 9-0. How is that not a MVP, SteelerNation?
