The 2023 NFL regular season has four weeks left, and MVP race is wide open.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t front-runners, it just means no one has separated themselves from the pack enough.
Right now, Dak Prescott (Cowboys), Brock Purdy (Niners), Tua Tagovailoa (Dolphins) and Jared Goff (Lions) are the leading candidates along with Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who’s attempting to become the first wide receiver ever to win the award.
The MVP award typically goes to a quarterback.
In fact, since 2000, only four times has a non-QB won the coveted award.
That’s not likely to be any different this year, but former 2015 MVP Cam Newton doesn’t believe any of the front-runners are more than “game managers” at best.
Strong words from Newton, the former No. 1 overall pick who led the Carolina Panthers to the Super Bowl in the 2015 season.
Newton Is Qualified To Talk, But He’s Not Correct
During a recent episode of his “4th and 1” podcast, Newton praised QBs Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson as being the true difference-makers for their teams. The former Heisman winner also took a bit of a parting shot at others saying ….
“Brock Purdy, Tua Tagovailoa, and Jared Goff. And, really Dak Prescott. These are game managers. They’re not difference makers. … If we’re really gonna call a spade a spade, a game manager, is different from a game changer,” said Newton.
What Newton is saying in many ways could be attributed to many quarterbacks this season, where team defenses have routinely been better than offenses a lot of weeks. To call Purdy, who’s “Mr. Irrelevant,” a game manager isn’t really far off because of the talented roster surrounding him in San Francisco. The final pick of the 2022 NFL draft has shown he can be more than that with some of the plays he’s made this season.
But as long as he’s on that talented roster he’ll never be considered anything more than what Newton believes he is. This despite being third in yardage, second in completion percentage, first in yards per attempt, tied for second in touchdowns and first in passer rating.
With Dak, it’s a bit different because he’s proved to be much more than a game manager, and it didn’t just happen this season, which statistically is shaping up to be the best of his career. Prescott has been on a tear as of late, with a league-best 23 touchdown passes in his last seven games. This season he has over 3,500 yards passing while completing nearly 70 percent of his passes and a league-leading 28 touchdowns versus just six interceptions.
As for Tua and Goff, they’re both solid QBs who do what the scheme of the offense calls for. Both play in run-heavy motion based attacks that feature quick decisions which also limit mistakes.
Was Newton A Game Manager At Times?
No one will ever question what Newton accomplished in his football career. From his 2010 Heisman and national championship winning season at Auburn to his MVP and Super Bowl appearance in the 2015 season, he was magnificent.
But there were times – especially as his career entered the twilight — that Newton resembled a game manager in his own right.
While he was more successful than not, his career numbers in many ways scream game manager.
In eleven seasons Newton passed for over 32,000 yards, 194 touchdowns and 123 interceptions. He also rushed for over 5,600 yards and 75 touchdowns.
No one will ever discredit Newton’s amazing dual-threat abilities, but he was not a game changer all the time himself. However, he did carry the team on his back for multiple seasons.
