Who wins MVP is always one of the more interesting discussion topics in the NFL. This season, it looks like the award will come down to two comeback players.
The Denver Post surveyed 18 of the 50 people who will be voting for the MVP award, and their findings show that Peyton Manning is in the lead.
According to the survey conducted by Mike Klis, nine voters say they back Peyton Manning, three say Adrian Peterson, and six said they wanted to see how Peterson performed in the Minnesota Vikings’ season finale against the Green Bay Packers.
Klis says those were the two players voters were considering for the award. Top quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Robert Griffin III were only mentioned as third place finishers behind Peterson or Manning.
Manning missed all last season after undergoing multiple neck surgeries. He led the Broncos to a 12-3 record entering Week 17 thanks in part to a 10-game winning streak. He has thrown for 4,355 yards, 34 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. This would be his NFL record fifth MVP award.
Peterson was injured in Week 16 against the Redskins last season. He had surgery to repair a torn ACL and returned earlier than expected. He has rushed for a career-high 1,898 yards and has a strong chance to become the seventh player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. All the while he has the Vikings unexpectedly contending for a playoff spot.
As excellent as both players have been this season, I don’t see why this appears to be a two-player race. Aaron Rodgers is having another outstanding season and has the best touchdown-to-interception ratio (35:8) among all quarterbacks. Green Bay has won nine of 10 entering Week 17, and Rodgers had thrown for 25 touchdowns and four interceptions in that span. He had a stinker in a 38-10 loss to the Giants, but outside of that, he has been outstanding.
I also would have included Robert Griffin III higher in the conversation had he not missed time because of injuries, because he has been spectacular this season.
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