NFL: Top 5 MVP Candidates
The NFL MVP award will almost assuredly go to a quarterback.The NFL season only has two more weeks to go, Pro Bowl participants have just been announced, and it is time to take a scan through the league and see who should be crowned the MVP. Now, with two weeks left in the season, the winner is definitely not decided, but there are only a few candidates who have a realistic shot at winning the trophy. There will no doubt be shuffling of the order for the award over these last two weeks, especially if someone has a huge closing kick, and with multiple players vying for this award, it will be interesting to watch how the race shakes out.The MVP, by nature of the game nowadays, is most assuredly a quarterback award because they have the ball in their hands every game and affect the game more than anyone else. With that said, there have been other performances by non-quarterbacks that are worthy of MVP consideration, including Antonio Brown, who combined with Ben Roethlisberger, have combined to lead one of the best offenses in the league, Luke Kuechley, who, if not for three missed games would have a credible case of being on the list as the nominal defender on the list, and Adrian Peterson, who has carried a subpar Vikings offense to a 9-5 record. You could also mention JJ Wattt with these names, but none quite had the impact of the five that make this list.
#5 Russell Wilson
If we had looked at this list after nine games, Russell Wilson would have been no where to be found. At that time he was piloting a struggling Seahawks offense and had 10 touchdowns to go with seven interecptions, but then some sort of switch flicked on Wilson has led the Seahawks on an offensive tear that has seen them score no fewer than 29 points in a game. Even more impressive has been Wilson’s own personal stats where he is averaging 284 yards per game with 9.6 yards per attempt and 19 touchdowns to zero interceptions. He’s also chipped in nearly 30 yards rushing per game.
Wilson’s rise in game has been one of the biggest storylines over the last month and has put him rightfully in the MVP conversation. However, he is a tier below the other quarterbacks because he was so pedestrian through the first nine weeks of the season which will make it nearly impossible for him to rise much higher in the voting. But if Wilson can keep up his very impressive play, he might be taking home a more important trophy come February