In a twist of events during Week 15, Aaron Rodgers suddenly finds himself in fine position to make a run at the NFL MVP as injuries to key personnel of the the Tampa Bay Buccaneers caused Tom Brady to loss grip on his MVP lead.
It may not be outrageous to say Rodgers is in the driver’s seat at this point in the MVP chase of two of the prolific quarterbacks of all-time.
With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers suddenly being besieged by a throng of injuries, Brady’s iron hand grip on the MVP after Week 15 in jeopardy.
Prior to Week 15, Brady was viewed to have a substantial lead in the MVP race between these two legendary veterans and two of the highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL.
According to Safe Betting Sites, Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was the second highest paid NFL athlete for 2021, earning $76M, 60% of Dak Prescott’s league-leading $107.5M. Meanwhile Rodgers is set to receive $22.4M in 2021 from a $134M contract he originally signed with the Green Bay Packers in 2018 per Spotrac.
A key win by the Green Bay Packers last December 20 put themselves in prime position to bag their second straight NFC top seeding while a key loss by Tampa puts their winning chances against playoff caliber teams highly questionable.
Rodgers threw for 268 yards with 3 touchdowns in a 31-30 win against the Baltimore Ravens. Meanwhile, Brady only managed 214 yards with an interception in a loss to division nemesis New Orleans Saints by shutout, 9-0. Further, season-ending injuries to Chris Goodwin and Leonard Fournette, as well as a a less serious one to Mike Evans, suddenly raises questions on their playoffs chances although they are still poised to win the NFC South that gives them at least one home playoff game.
Rodgers now has 30 touchdowns and 3,487 yards total for the season. He is completing 67.8% of his passes and threw only 4 interceptions.
Meanwhile, Brady is actually better with 36 touchdowns and 4,348 total yards thrown but trails in completion rate (67.1%) and has already recorded 11 interceptions for the season.
An MVP win this year by either elevates the winner out of a multiple tie for second place in the all-time MVP count. Both looking for their 4th trophy, one that will put the winner in solo second place, trailing only Peyton Manning’s five.
As of writing, the Packers sport a league-best 11-3 record with three games left with the Bucs not too far behind at 10-4. The packers, however, holds the tie-breaker edge in case the teams finish tied in the standings.
By the way things are going, Rodgers seems to be on a better spot to get his fourth MVP and another homecourt advantage throughout the entire playoffs.
The Packers are scheduled to host the Cleveland Browns in Week 16. The Browns are coming off a loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, 14-16, and are under pressure to win this one to keep their heads above water from their rivals in the AFC North.
By Armando M. Bolislis
