Joe Burrow is losing ground in Comeback Player of the Year sweepstakes
When the 2021 season began, Joe Burrow seemed like a good candidate to be crowned Comeback Player of the Year at season’s end. He missed the final six games of his rookie season due to injury and people were psyched to see him take the field again in year two of his professional career with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Dak Prescott also returned to action after missing a large chunk of 2020 due to injury and has led the Cowboys to a 6-2 start this season. This means that Burrow’s chances of securing the Comeback Player of the Year title are slowly slipping away.
According to WynnBET, Burrow has the second-best odds to win the title, sitting behind Prescott, at +600. Prescott’s odds are currently at -475, making him the obvious favorite to be crowned Comeback Player of the Year.
It’s not hard to see why either. Prescott has his team in first place in the NFC East (a weak division, but hey, the ‘Boys are doing what they’re supposed to be doing) and in contention as one of the better teams in the NFC. So far, the Cowboys signal-caller has thrown for 2,045 yards, 18 touchdowns, and five interceptions.
Burrow, meanwhile, has thrown for 2,497 yards — so significantly more than Prescott — and has 20 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. The passing yards might be higher for Burrow, but he has just two more touchdowns than Prescott and has thrown six more interceptions. The Bengals signal-caller also leads the league in interceptions.
Joe Burrow not the favorite for Comeback Player of the Year
There’s obviously still a chance for Burrow to win the award but he’ll have to cut back on the interceptions and get the Bengals to the playoffs. It appears to be a two-horse race at this point between Burrow and Prescott with the next-closest candidate being Carson Wentz with +1300 odds. After that, James Conner has +2000 odds and it feels like this is either Prescott or Burrow’s title to win.
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If the Bengals get into the playoffs, Burrow’s odds at winning Comeback Player of the Year should be better but unless Prescott takes a massive dive in the final eight games of the season, he should be able to capture his first CPOTY title.