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Week 12 NFL MVP Picks

Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson and Frank Schwab select the unlikeliest of football heroes from week 12 in the MVP Picks brought to you by Visa.

Video Transcript

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CHARLES ROBINSON: As we close the book on Sunday's games, we wanted to highlight that Visa supports MVPs on and off the field from play-makers to small business owners. That's why today we're awarding the MVP to the unlikeliest football hero from week 12. Franklin, who's your week 12 here?

FRANK SCHWAB: You know, before this season, I was very skeptical of Bengals head coach, Zac Taylor. And I have to admit, he's turned it around. And I thought today was kind of the moment the Bengals arrived a little bit. Maybe that was against the Ravens, a couple of weeks ago. But today, they just look like a dominant football team.

And we know they have that upside. And I think we have to give Zac Taylor a lot of credit for this. They've swept the Steelers now. And Mike Tomlin, to me anyway, has a Hall of Fame type resume. They've dominated them twice. They've dominated the Ravens. Coached by John Harbaugh, who is a phenomenal head coach.

And I think Zac Taylor has really turned a corner in his career. He was 625 and one before this season. And you said, OK, I know the Bengals don't have a lot of talent. But 625 and one? Really? With his thin resume, would people have made all the jokes about, oh, hey, guys are just getting jobs because they've met Sean McVay in a coffee shop once?

We're talking about Zac Taylor. He had nothing to bring to the table resume-wise except this hope that he could be the next McVay. There are two seasons he was awful. Third season, he's turned it completely around. And the Bengals future is really bright.

And I think Zac Taylor is one of those reasons. I did not expect that coming into the season, but he has really proven himself, I think, to be a good NFL head coach, a good hire, and a guy the Bengals should be happy to have going forward with this young team. Charles who is your unlikely MVP from today?

CHARLES ROBINSON: You know, I mean, we talked about earlier, but I'm going to say the Leonard Fournette. The running back, obviously, for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. To me, Fournette was the guy that came to the Buccaneers. He said he wanted to play with Tom Brady. He had some key moments, obviously, last year in the playoff run.

But, to me, when we look at this Buccaneers team, I'm always like, what's the missing element. Like, you know, injuries, guys are shuffling in and out of the lineup. But today, we saw him go for I think it was 131 yards from scrimmage, 100 running, 31 receiving. Caught seven passes, ran it 17 times. Four touchdowns, OK.

I'm not saying this has to be Leonard Fournette week in, week out. But even if you get 80% of this Leonard Fournette, where he can have some kind of an impact consistently at the running back position, I think that helps Tom Brady and that Tampa Bay offense immensely.

Especially if you get Gronkowski healthy down the stretch. If Antonio Brown's healthy down the stretch. And you're fully loaded and you have a running back who can consistently show up inside the red zone and take you into the end zone from 5 yards and in. Makes a huge difference for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So to me, I think that was my unlikely football hero.

FRANK SCHWAB: All right, so sometimes the most important figures on Sunday aren't the biggest stars. But the supporting cast helping you to make it happen. This was MVP picks brought to you by Visa.