Comeback Player of Year Down To Three
Trio of Quarterbacks in Running for NFL Award
The NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year (CBPOY) Award is down to three players, namely three quarterbacks in Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys, Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals, and Carson Wentz of the Indianapolis Colts. According to the NFL odds, Prescott (-500) appears to have this all locked up as he is putting up career numbers and the Cowboys are on pace to recapture the NFC East title.
But nothing is ever guaranteed in this football league and Burrow and Wentz still have an outside shot to surprise everyone and have their name called instead. We’ll make the case for all three QBs plus a quick peek at who else is available for betting online.
Making The Case For Each Quarterback
Dak Prescott
- Team: Dallas Cowboys (7-4)
- Opening Odds: +150
- Current Odds: -500
Prescott’s current sports betting odds imply that he has an 83.3 percent chance to win the award. Through 10 starts, he is 6-4 with 22 touchdowns and seven picks, and a 104.2 passer rating. The 28-year-old owns a career-best 69.4 percent completion rate.
However, he’s slowed down considerably since his hot start as the Cowboys have lost three of their last four games. Dallas is only 2-3 against teams with a .500 record or better and the team will need to snap out of its funk as Philadelphia and Washington bridge the gap in the NFC East.
Joe Burrow
- Team: Cincinnati Bengals (7-4)
- Opening Odds: +600
- Current Odds: +500
Burrow at +500 has tremendous value to steal this award from Prescott. While the Cowboys are a more popular team, there is no denying the newfound success Cincinnati is having with Burrows under center.
The sophomore has more than improved on all of his stats as Cincinnati is just one game behind Baltimore to win the division despite most NFL predictions picking them to finish last in the AFC North. As long as Cincinnati is winning and Dallas is struggling, the odds should tighten up.
Carson Wentz
- Team: Indianapolis Colts (6-6)
- Opening Odds: +950
- Current Odds: +1400
Like the Colts, consider Wentz as the dark horse to win this award. Is he going to do it? He’ll need some help as Dallas and Cincinnati need to lose and the Colts need to find a make it into the playoffs.
Regardless, Wentz has proven his doubters wrong as he is quietly having a great year with stats that are similar to his peak seasons in Philadelphia. Indianapolis already overcame an 0-3 start so going on another run isn’t impossible.
The Other Contenders
James Conner (+1600): Conner is tied with Joe Mixon as the top choice for the award outside of quarterback. The Arizona Cardinals are an NFL-best 9-2, though his overall stats are unimpressive except for one. Conner’s 12 rushing touchdowns are second in the league to Jonathan Taylor and they have all come over the last nine games.
Joe Mixon (+1600): Lost in the Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase hype is Bengals teammate Mixon, who is having a fantastic season. The fact that he’s tied with Conner at 16-1 is disrespectful as Mixon is on pace to have a career-high in rushing yards and already has more rushing touchdowns (11) than he’s had in the last two seasons combined (8).
Nick Bosa (+2000): Bosa has picked up where he left off from his rookie season with San Francisco as he has 11.0 sacks and leads the NFL in tackles for loss (16). However, defensive players hardly ever beat out quarterbacks for honors so unless Bosa breaks multiple NFL records, he’s not sniffing the award.
Derwin James (+5000): Like Bosa, James won’t win this award as a defensive player and as part of the secondary. The Los Angeles Chargers also have one of the worst defenses in the NFL so the fact he’s even on the board is an open invitation to donate your money.
