Yes, there's still a game left in Week 12 -- I know. But in the grand scheme of who will win the NFL MVP award, tonight's game between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens is meaningless -- sorry, Browns and Ravens fans. The man gaining the most support each week may be Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton, but you can make a case for a handful of players across the league. So with only five games remaining for each team, who are the top five MVP candidates?
5. WR Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
Jones comes in at No. 5 even though his team has last four games in a row. The fact of the matter is that they'd be nowhere near a wild-card chase if it were not for him, as he's been at least half of their offense -- if not more -- each week this year. He's on pace for absolutely ridiculous numbers, as he's already posted 94 receptions, 1,245 yards and six touchdowns. If he keeps it up, he would have around 136 catches, 1,811 yards and nine touchdowns -- one of the top five seasons for a receiver ever.
4. QB Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals
After tearing his ACL last year, Palmer has come back with a vengeance, having his best season as a pro so far. He's second in the league only to Tom Brady with a 105.9 passer rating, and has thrown for 27 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. The Cardinals are 9-2 with him at the helm, and should easily win the NFC West this year.
3. RB Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
This guy is simply amazing. He's torn his ACL twice during his career, and as recently as last season, yet he's come back and been as good as he's ever been. While the Vikings have gotten to 8-3 with great team play, he's the biggest component to their success. His hard-nosed, never-say-die mentality is why this team has been so good. Once again, Peterson is leading the NFL in rushing yards by a wide margin and is second in rushing touchdowns. Without him, the Vikings would likely be have two or three less wins on the year at least.
2. QB Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Now we're getting to the two guys who are clearly at the top of the pack as far as MVP contendership is concerned -- it's almost a two-horse race, if you will.
Until last night's stunning loss to the Denver Broncos, the Pats were undefeated, and Brady has been their fearless leader all season long. During the Deflategate drama that persisted all offseason long, not many were sure what to expect. But a fiery Brady has come out and showed the league that no matter what, he's going to be successful and win games. At 38 years old, Brady is having one of his best seasons ever, leading the league in yards at 3,600 and has the best TD:INT ratio at 28:4.
1. QB Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
Any other year, it's likely that Brady would be No. 1. That spot, however, has been taken over by Mr. Newton, who now leads the last undefeated team in the NFL. What Newton has done with limited weapons is almost Brady-like in and of itself. Other than tight end Greg Olsen, he doesn't have a No. 1 or No. 2 wide receiver talent-wise -- maybe not even a No. 3.
Instead, Newton is learning to spread the ball around and use all of his receivers as he's picked apart defenses, finding ways to score while protecting the ball. And his running ability has been as good -- and smart -- as ever.
With anyone other than Cam "Superman" Newton at quarterback, the Panthers would likely be a .500 team at best. Instead, they're a Super Bowl favorite that is third not only in points allowed this year, thanks to a great defense, but also third in points scored.
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