Micah Parsons cast his MVP vote for Joe Burrow after Bengals' overtime win over the Broncos

Micah Parsons doesn't have an MVP vote. No active players do.

But as someone who decidedly knows ball, his opinion holds some weight. So when he says someone is his most valuable player, it means something.

And it's great news for Joe Burrow.

Burrow's outstanding 2024 campaign continued Saturday as he overcame a last-second Denver Broncos rally and tossed a game-winning touchdown -- one of three on the day -- to keep the Cincinnati Bengals' playoff hopes alive at least one more week. His 30-24 overtime win over a Broncos team that needed a victory to clinch its playoff spot was another entry in a season full of big performances. It was also enough to convince Parsons, yep, that's the NFL's most valuable player.

Burrow has had a tremendous year, even by his lofty standard. His 42 passing touchdowns and 4,641 passing yards both lead the league. His 39 of 49 performance pushed his 2024 completion rate to 69.8 percent and an NFL career-best -- across every quarterback to ever play the game -- at 68.3 percent.

Despite this, Cincinnati is just 8-8 thanks to a defense that's fallen off a cliff in 2024. Just getting back to .500 with the league's 28th-best scoring defense is a massive accomplishment. So is rallying the Bengals from a 4-8 record to the edge of the playoff race with one week remaining.

Are those MVP numbers? Maybe not in a season where Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are both dealing and Saquon Barkley has a real chance to break the NFL's single-season rushing yards record. But if Parsons had a vote, he'd throw it Burrow's way -- assuming he can pull off the near-impossible and lead Cincinnati to the postseason.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Micah Parsons cast his MVP vote for Joe Burrow after Bengals' overtime win over the Broncos