With eight weeks remaining in the 2015 NFL regular season, here’s how we view the MVP race…
1. Tom Brady, Patriots — He’s actually coming off his second-worst performance of the year in terms of passer rating, but 96.0 ain’t bad and Brady still led the Pats to another one-sided victory. He’s still the league’s highest-rated passer on an unbeaten team.
2. Andy Dalton, Bengals — But Dalton’s rating is only 2.5 points back of Brady and Cincinnati is also perfect. That’s enough to move him ahead of reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers.
3. Aaron Rodgers, Packers — Back-to-back losses for the first time in over five years. Something just hasn’t been right with Rodgers and the Packers offense, and now Brady, Dalton, Carson Palmer and Tyrod Taylor have higher ratings than him.
4. Carson Palmer, Cardinals — He remains in the same spot following a bye week. A key stat: Palmer leads the league by a mile with a yards-per-attempt average of 9.2.
5. Derek Carr, Raiders — The league’s fastest-rising star has 19 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Still, the Raiders will have to start winning more games in order for Carr to make an MVP run in his second season.
Also in the running: Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown.
