The 2016 NFL MVP looks like one of the tightest races in recent memory, with four worthy quarterbacks and two hyper productive running backs highlighting the leaders for the prestigious award.
With the regular season finally complete, here is a look at the MVP case for every legitimate candidate:
QB Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
Ryan finished at or near the top in every major passing category, while leading an offense that scored the eighth most points of all-time. Ryan’s passer rating of 117.1 was the fifth best in NFL history. Only Drew Brees had more passing yards than Ryan’s 4,944; only Aaron Rodgers threw more touchdowns than Ryan’s 38.
The Falcons averaged 33.8 points per game, and Ryan only had two games with a passer rating under 90.0. He also completed 69.9 percent of his passes while averaging a league-high 9.26 yards per attempt.
Ryan’s lethal combination of efficiency, production and winning (the Falcons won 11 games and clinched the No. 2 seed in the NFC) is typically the perfect recipe for winning the MVP, especially as a quarterback.
QB Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Brady will get docked for missing the first four games of the season to suspension, but his 12 games in 2016 were otherwise unmatched. He threw 28 touchdowns against just two interceptions, giving Brady the best touchdown-to-interception ratio of all-time.
The Patriots also won 11 of the 12 games Brady started, thrusting New England into the AFC’s top seed with a 14-2 record.
Brady’s other important passing numbers—67.4 completion percentage, 8.2 yards per attempt and 112.2 passer rating—were among the league’s best. With a full 16 games, Brady might be the clear and obvious winner. He’ll instead have to sway MVP voters with a 12-game stretch that ranks among his best ever.
QB Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
Rodgers is essentially the LeBron James of the NFL. He could and probably should win the MVP every single season. No player is more talented, and no player is more important to the their team’s success every single game.
Rodgers got off to a rocky start in 2016, but once he said the 4-6 Packers could “run the table” to finish the season, no player was better. Rodgers threw 15 touchdowns and zero interceptions over the final six games, as the Packers ran the table and passed the Detroit Lions to win the NFC North title.
Rodgers finished the season with an NFL-high 40 touchdown passes and only seven interceptions. He also ran for almost 400 yards and four more scores. There’s no discounting how poor the Packers were at times during the first 10 games—and Rodgers himself had some ugly individual games—but his finish to 2016 was the stuff of legend.
RB Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys
The fourth overall pick in the NFL draft put together one of the most productive seasons ever for a rookie running back. Elliott won the rushing title with 1,613 yards, while averaging 5.1 yards per carry and scoring 15 touchdowns.
He also played in just 15 games, thanks to Elliott powering the Cowboys to a 13-2 record and home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs before Week 17 had even kicked off. Head coach Jason Garrett gave him the day off in the season finale against Philadelphia.
Overall, Elliott had at least 90 rushing yards or a rushing touchdown in all 15 games he played. His ability to control games on the ground helped the Cowboys—a team that finished 4-12 last season—become the single dominant team in the NFC.
QB Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
No rookie quarterback has ever won the NFL’s MVP, but Prescott—a fourth-round pick who became the starter in Dallas after Tony Romo injured his back during the preseason—has to be in the discussion.
Prescott finished with a 104.9 passer rating, the third best in the NFL this season and the highest mark ever for a rookie. He completed 67.8 percent of his passes, averaged almost eight yards per attempt and threw only four interceptions. He also finished with the lowest interception percentage ever by a rookie quarterback.
The Cowboys won 13 games under his direction.
Prescott may not have the volume numbers of a Ryan, Brady or Rodgers, but he was critical to the Cowboys’ drastic and impressive turnaround.
RB Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers
Consider Bell the Tom Brady of running backs. Bell missed the first three games and the season finale, but his 12 games in 2016 were as good as it gets from the running back position.
He gained 1,884 yards from scrimmage over the 12 games, at an average of 157.0 total yards per game. And while he finished fifth in rushing yards at 1,268, his rushing yards per game (105.7) were only three behind Elliott for the NFL lead.
Overall, Bell led the NFL in average all-purpose yards per game. He accounted for over 30 percent of the Pittsburgh’s total yards during the 12 games he played, while scoring nine touchdowns for the red-hot Steelers. Like Brady, Bell would be a much stronger candidate had he been available for all 16 games.
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