What is the NVP? Full list of winners of Nickelodeon’s fan-voted award, up for grabs in Cowboys vs. 49ers

For the second consecutive year, Nickelodeon is broadcasting an NFL wild-card game. The first kid-friendly simulcast of the CBS wild-card game was hosted by Noah Eagle, Nate Burleson and Gabrielle Nevaeh Green and debuted during the Saints vs. Bears game in the 2021 NFL playoffs.

The broadcast was well-received, so the NFL and CBS brought it back for 2022. That means NFL fans will bear witness to the selection of the NVP once again.

The NVP is the Nickelodeon award given to the most valuable player of the wild-card game. It’s voted on by the fans, so the selection process can get chaotic, as the Nickelodeon crowd skews toward the younger demographic.

Viewers saw the NVP selection go awry last year. Will it happen again? Here’s everything to know about the award before the 49ers-Cowboys game on Nickelodeon.

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What is the NVP?

NVP is an acronym for “Nickelodeon Valuable Player”, and it originated as an award that is given at the end of the NFL wild-card game that is broadcast on Nickelodeon. The trophy is given to the player that the fans choose as the most valuable player of the game.

During the 2021 regular season, Nickelodeon started awarding a weekly NVP award as part of their “NFL Slimetime” show on Wednesday nights. That award is given to the NFL player with the best performance of the previous week, as voted on by fans. It’s not quite as prestigious as the single-game NVP, but Patrick Mahomes still called it “one of the best trophies I’ve ever gotten” after he won the award with a five-TD performance in Week 10.

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Who has won the NVP?

The NVP has only been awarded for a single game once, as there had only been one Nickelodeon broadcast before the 2022 NFL playoffs. That game, featuring the Saints and the Bears, saw Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky take home the honor. The fans chose him despite the Bears losing 21-9 and Trubisky throwing for 199 yards and a touchdown.

As for the weekly NVP winners for “NFL Slimetime”, the award has been dominated by quarterbacks and offensive playmakers as well. Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase was the lone player to win the award twice during the season.

Here’s a full list of the NVP winners during the 2021 NFL season.

• Week 1: QB Kyler Murray, Cardinals
• Week 2: QB Tom Brady, Buccaneers
• Week 3: K Justin Tucker, Ravens
• Week 4: QB Dak Prescott, Cowboys
• Week 5: QB Josh Allen, Bills
• Week 6: RB Derrick Henry, Titans
• Week 7: WR Ja’Marr Chase, Bengals
• Week 8: QB Mike White, Jets
• Week 9: DE Josh Allen, Jaguars
• Week 10: QB Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs
• Week 11: RB Jonathan Taylor, Colts
• Week 12: RB Leonard Fournette, Buccaneers
• Week 13: QB Justin Herbert, Chargers
• Week 14: TE George Kittle, 49ers
• Week 15: DT Christian Wilkins, Dolphins
• Week 16: QB Joe Burrow, Bengals
• Week 17: WR Ja’Marr Chase, Bengals
• Week 18: WR Deebo Samuel, 49ers

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How did Mitch Trubisky win NVP?

Simply put, Trubisky took home 49 percent of the vote from viewers as the “NVP” against the Saints. The viewers chose him as the winner, and he earned significantly more votes than the two Saints defenders who were in contention for the award.

The irony, of course, is that Trubisky didn’t play very well during the game. He threw for 199 yards and one touchdown while helping guide the Bears to a 21-9 loss. Comparatively, Drew Brees threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

Naturally, the Internet had quite a bit of fun with this, and that included the popular NFL stats website Pro Football Reference. They added the NVP award to Trubisky’s stats page under the awards section, right next to his one Pro Bowl appearance.

To his credit, Trubisky took the award in stride. He laughed off receiving it during training camp with his new team, the Bills.

“They just told me and I was like, ‘Oh, cool. Is there like a trophy or something?’” Trubisky said, per Bears Wire. “It was tough, because it was emotional, season just ended, we lost the game. It was a rough game, honestly. And they’re like, ‘You won something.’ I thought they were just messing with me. I was like, ‘What? The NVP sounds like MVP. There’s no way. You can’t win a MVP with a game like that.’ ‘No, the NVP… Nickelodeon Valuable Person, I guess.’ And I was like, ‘How do I qualify for that?’ ‘I don’t know, they voted for you.’ ‘Alright, thank you, I guess.’”

We’ll soon see if the viewers choose a player from the winning side in 2022.

MORE: What happened to Mitchell Trubisky?

49ers, Cowboys who could win NVP

There are several solid NVP candidates for the Cowboys-49ers game in 2022. Here’s a rundown of the top contenders.

Cowboys

QB Dak Prescott. The quarterbacks will always be a threat to win the NVP. The 49ers have a weak secondary and Prescott is a popular, prolific, young quarterback. If the Cowboys play well, expect him to draw a lot of attention.

RB Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott hasn’t had a great year, but he is a big name that a lot of Nickelodeon’s young audience will recognize. He will draw attention if he can get into the end zone.

LB Micah Parsons. If a defensive player wins the NVP, Parsons seems like the best bet. He’s a dynamic, do-it-all playmaker and was a first-team All-Pro this year.

49ers

QB Jimmy Garoppolo. Kids love quarterbacks. If Trubisky can win NVP, so can Garoppolo.

WR Deebo Samuel. Samuel is another versatile playmaker and has already won a weekly NVP award. He will probably get a lot of touches in this game, so that will give him as good a chance as any to win it.

TE George Kittle. Kittle is another weekly NVP award winner and he is one of the most dynamic tight ends in the game. He and Samuel represent the 49ers’ best chances of knocking off the Cowboys in this important category.