theScore's NFL Awards Roundtable: Most Valuable Player
The NFL Honors will be handed out on Feb. 4, but theScore's NFL Editors are making a case for the players whom they feel deserve to take home the hardware this season.
theScore's NFL Awards
- Offensive Rookie of the Year
- Defensive Rookie of the Year
- Coach of the Year
- Comeback Player of the Year
- Offensive Player of the Year
- Defensive Player of the Year
- Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers
4,428 passing yards, 40 TDs, 7 INTs
369 rushing yards, 4 TDs
Forget the stats that may swing the argument in another quarterback's favor. After a 4-6 start, Rodgers proceeded to carry a depleted Packers team to six consecutive wins in locking down an NFC North title. That's what the MVP award should be all about. With the ridiculous throws Rodgers adds to his highlight reel every week, it's becoming more and more clear that we're watching the best this game has ever seen. -Dan Wilkins
Rodgers can execute feats on the football field that no other quarterback can accomplish and his performance over the second half of the season was one of the most impressive individual stretches in NFL history. His 44 total touchdowns were a league high as he single-handedly carried the Packers to the postseason. Rodgers fell shy of the Super Bowl this year, but he will take home his third MVP trophy. -Justin Boone
He did it. When the rest of the league counted him out and started suggesting he was past his prime, Rodgers plopped the Packers on his back and took them into the playoffs - just like he said he would. His "run the table" prediction is the stuff of legends and his 13-0 touchdowns-to-interceptions tally during that six-game winning streak was right there with it. No one had as many passing touchdowns, not to mention his four rushing scores, and he didn't need a highly touted offensive coordinator or a troop of big-name receivers to do so. -Mitch Sanderson
Matt Ryan, RB, Falcons
4,944 passing yards, 38 TDs, 7 INTs
A year ago, the thought of Ryan securing an MVP trophy would have been met with ridicule. Always the poster boy for "pretty good but never great," Ryan well and truly stepped up into the elite category with an outstanding season. No other quarterback matched his consistency game to game, as he only failed to finish with a passer rating of 90 or better in two games. It's telling that, for some, the only thing holding this back from being a slam-dunk pick is the fact he's Matt Ryan. -Jack Browne
Others were better for stretches of time, but no one was as consistently great as Ryan. If you take away just one stat, make it this: Ryan threw a touchdown pass to 13 different players this season, an NFL record. -David P. Woods
Ryan led the NFL in yards per attempt and passer rating, while completing 69.9 percent of his passes for 38 touchdowns against a mere seven interceptions. Atlanta led the NFL with a whopping 33.8 points per game, in large part due to Ryan's command of the offense, while gliding to the NFC's No. 2 seed. There are strong cases for Ezekiel Elliott, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers, but the argument for Ryan is slightly more compelling. -Arun Srinivasan
Tom Brady, QB, Patriots
3,554 passing yards, 28 TDs, 2 INTs
Twenty-eight touchdowns against two interceptions in 12 games. At the age of 39, Brady continues to top himself. Detractors will use his four-game suspension against him, but would an absence brought on by injury disqualify a candidate with similar stats? Reject recency bias and the urge to go against the grain and recognize who was the NFL's best in 2016. That distinction belongs to Tom Brady. -Michael McClymont
theScore's NFL Awards