From the Bleachers: Breaking Down the NFL’s MVP Race with Five Weeks Left in the Season

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BOSTON – OCTOBER 16: Quarterback Tom Brady, No 12, prepares to throw pass at Gillette Stadium, New England Patriots vs. Dallas Cowboys on October 16, 2011 in Foxborough, Boston, MA

Starting in Foxborough, the future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady has emerged yet again as one of the frontrunners for the NFL’s highest honor. Brady leads the league in passing yards (3,374), is second in touchdowns (26), and is tied for the least amount of interceptions (3) among players to have attempted at least 100 passes. Add in a bonkers 111.7 passer rating and the 40 year old is continuing his dominance over the NFL in 2017. Shifting over to his impact on the team itself, the Patriots are currently averaging the most yards (411.2) and the third most points (29.5) per game in the NFL. On the counter is New England’s defense, a unit that has given up the third most YPG (385.5) and 20 PPG. While the defense has improved over the last couple of weeks, they’ve still been rather ineffective throughout most of the season. Even with disappointing defensive play, the Patriots still boast the second best record in the league at 9-2 behind the remarkable numbers at the quarterback position. Without Brady, who knows what state the Patriots would be in this season.

As mentioned earlier, there’s only one quarterback who’s thrown more touchdowns than Brady, and that man is Carson Wentz. There is also only one team in the NFL that has a better record than Brady’s Patriots, and that team is Wentz’s Eagles. With a league-high 28 passing touchdowns (also the most by an Eagles quarterback through eleven games) and the league’s best record, Wentz not only boasts the stats to win the award but has the overall team success as well. Before 2017, the Eagles had previously finished 7-9 in both of their last two seasons. The franchise was in need of a turnaround, and they were relying on Carson Wentz to be the one to right the ship in Philly. And in 2017, Wentz has done just that, giving the Eagles their most wins since 2014 with ten and there’s still five weeks left in the season. No other contender for the award completed as much of a turnaround in 2017 as Carson Wentz, which is the main reason why he is in the MVP conversation.

While no other candidate has had as much of a turnaround as Wentz, none of them have had as much to do for their team as Russell Wilson has for the Seattle Seahawks. Through the air, Wilson is currently tied with Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees for third in passing yards (3,029) and is also third in passing TDs with 23. And then there’s his rushing stats. With 401 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, not only is Wilson among the league leaders in rushing at his position, but on his team as well. Wilson has the most rushing yards on the Seahawks, having 193 more yards than Seattle’s second leading rusher Chris Carson…and he’s a quarterback. With 3,430 total yards, the signal caller has accounted for an absurd 85% of his team’s total yards. And he’s done this behind one of the league’s worst offensive lines and running games. Wilson has singlehandedly carried the Seahawks’ offense, and now will be asked to do even more with All Pro defensive backs Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor now out for the remainder of the season. If Wilson can continue to play at such a high level and lead his Seahawks to the playoffs, then the six year quarterback could emerge as the favorite for the league’s most valuable player award. 

The last of the top candidates is not just one player, but a pair of teammates residing in Pittsburgh. Running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown have once again proved to be one of the NFL’s top duos, leading the Steelers to joint top of the AFC at 9-2. Bell leads the league in both carries (252) and rushing yards (981), while also having 396 receiving yards, the sixth most among running backs. The Michigan State alumni is also on pace for 455 total touches this season, which would be the third most of any player in the history of football. On the other half of the duo is Antonio Brown, who has been heads-and-shoulders above every other receiver in the NFL this season. No wideout has more yards (1,195) than Brown, and only one has more touchdowns than his eight (DeAndre Hopkins with nine). The star duo has combined for a total of 2,572 yards, which is 63% of the team’s total of 4,037. Bell and Brown have made Pittsburgh’s offense virtually impossible to stop, and both are two of the league’s top candidates for MVP this season.

One of the dark horse candidates for the award is the Rams’ Jared Goff, who has taken Los Angeles from 4-12 and hopeless in 2016 to 8-3 and Super Bowl contenders in 2017. A few of the other under-the-radar contenders are Matthew Stafford who has 3,010 yards and his Lions in the playoff hunt, and Jacksonville’s rookie running back Leonard Fournette, who is seventh in rushing yards (765) and has turned the Jaguars franchise around, leading them to a 7-4 record on the season.

So, who should win the award? The answer: Tom Brady. While Wentz has led his team to the NFL’s best record and Wilson has been forced to do more for his team, Tom Brady is still the most deserving of the honor. First there’s his stats, where he ranks in the top five in a majority of passing categories. Then, with little help on the defensive end, Brady has carried his team to the top seed in the AFC, even without one of his favorite targets in Julian Edelman. At the age of forty, Tom Brady continues to prove why he’s one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the NFL, and has earned the right to add yet another MVP to his name.