The MVP race continues to heat up in Week 15, but it's clear now that Adrian Peterson is the front-runner after his performance against the St. Louis Rams. Tom Brady had a great night and a rough night from the 49ers defense, while Peyton Manning torched the Ravens.
Houston defensive end JJ Watt took the lead in the Defensive Player of the Year race with his performance on Sunday and also threw his hat in the ring as a possible MVP candidate. Check out our projections from last week and see where everyone stands as Week 15 finishes up.
Adrian Peterson, Running Back, Minnesota Vikings
Possible Awards: Most Valuable Player, Comeback Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year
Peterson is in the lead for every award he is up for after his performance on Sunday against the St. Louis Rams. He rushed for 212 yards and a touchdown, basically ensuring that he will get to 2,000 yards this season, something that has only been done six times and not since Chris Johnson in 2009.
The sixth-year pro is only 294 yards away from Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record and will no doubt win MVP and Offensive Player of the Year if he reaches that total. This season he has rushed for a career-high 1,812 yards and 11 touchdowns and has single-handedly helped bring the Vikings back into the playoff race.
The team is currently in the sixth Wild Card spot, but will lose out on it if the New York Giants win their final two games. Either way, what Peterson has done this season is nothing short of amazing. He has rushed for at least 100-yards in eight straight games and is doing it on a knee that had serious surgery just 10 months ago.
In the past three games he has scored four touchdowns and is averaging a career-high 6.3 yards per carry. He has been extremely valuable for the Vikings, rushing for seven of his 11 touchdowns in wins to go along with 1,050 yards.
Awards STOCK: Up across the board for all awards. If he breaks the single-season rushing record, the MVP and Offensive awards are his. Peyton Manning offers the biggest challenge in comeback player because the NFL and voters will want to honor him for as well as he has played. There's no way Peterson doesn't bring home one of these awards, barring some injury or something of that sort.
J.J. Watt, Defensive End, Houston Texans
Possible Awards: Most Valuable Player, Defense Player of the Year
Defensive players never win the MVP award. The last player to do so was Lawrence Taylor for the New York Giants, but no one has come close to taking it away from an offensive player in quite some time. Enter Mr. J.J. Watt.
Right now Watt is the front-runner for Defensive Player of the Year, but he is firmly in the MVP race now after sniffing around behind the three favorites for most of the year. Watt has been absolutely dominant like no other defensive player this season and has a chance to catch Michael Strahan's single-season sack record.
In Sunday's 29-17 victory over the Colts, Watt had a season-high 10 tackles and 3.0 sacks, as well as one forced fumble. Watt seems to only be getting better as the season gets deeper and he has forced a fumble in three straight games. This season he has 19.5 sacks, 74 combined tackles and an astonishing 15 passes defended. That is a statistic usually dominated by cornerbacks, but Watt has been a complete disruption at the line of scrimmage this season, knocking down more balls than any other lineman and it isn't even close.
Against the New York Jets in October, Watt had a season-high three passes knocked down, including the final play of the game that the Jets had hoped to set up for the game-winning score. Instead, Watt knocked down Mark Sanchez's pass and the game was over just like that.
Awards STOCK: Way Up. As of right now, the Defensive Player of the Year is his to lose. With Peterson's stats, it's highly unlikely he will win MVP, but if Peterson slips in the next few games and misses notching 2,000, Watt could be a dark horse candidate. He leads the fifth-ranked rushing defense in the league and has helped Houston to its second straight AFC South title.
Tom Brady, Quarterback, New England Patriots
Possible Awards: Most Valuable Player, Offensive Player of the Year
Like most years, Brady is one of the best quarterbacks and players in the league. His numbers are pretty good, but nothing quite like what Peterson has done as a running back. Comparing positions can be hard when thinking about "value", because clearly the most important position on the football field is the quarterback.
Both Peterson and Brady are extremely valuable to their teams because arguably they would fall apart or be not nearly as good as they are without them. Brady proved his skills on Sunday night against the 49ers after helping the Patriots climb back from a 28-point deficit at home. He threw for 443 yards and one touchdown in the game and completed 36-of-65 passes.
This season Brady has thrown for 4,276 yards and 30 touchdowns with just six interceptions. As usual, his numbers are among the league leaders and he has passed for nine touchdowns in the past four games while only throwing three interceptions.
Brady has thrown for at least one touchdown in every game this season and had a streak of five games earlier this year without turning the ball over.
Awards STOCK: Up, but slightly. As long as AP is still rushing for 2,000 yards, it should be his award to lose. Brady has a chance at 5,000 yards with a massive finish to the season, but he will have to be stellar to do that. His numbers are great and Brady could take home the MVP or Offensive player of the voters decide to split between him and Peterson.
Other Candidates:
-Peyton Manning, Quarterback, Denver Broncos
-Aldon Smith, Linebacker, San Francisco 49ers
-Drew Brees, Quarterback, New Orleans Saints