We’re now one month into a four-month season, so maybe it’s not completely crazy to start ranking players in terms of their MVP positioning.
Still crazy? Oh well, we started this in Week 1 so we’re gaining legitimacy by the week. Here’s an updated look at our NFL power rankings, player-style…
1. Philip Rivers, Chargers — Four weeks, four separate MVP front-runners. Can’t deny Rivers any longer; the guy is playing the best football of his career. The Chargers are legitimate contenders with him under center, especially now that he leads the NFL with a passer rating of 114.5 to go with a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 9-to-1.
2. Russell Wilson, Seahawks — Not exactly cool that we knocked him out of the top spot while he was on a bye, so Wilson retains the runner-up position two weeks after out-dueling Peyton Manning.
3. Peyton Manning, Broncos — See Russell Wilson re: bye week.
4. J.J. Watt, Texans — It’s official: Watt is dominant enough to become the first defensive player since Lawrence Taylor to win the league’s MVP award. After a dazzling performance against Buffalo in which he had an 80-yard pick-six, Watt now has the highest Pro Football Focus grade in football by a massive margin.
5. Andy Dalton, Bengals — Another guy who was on a bye after being ranked in the top five last week. He’s leading the 3-0 Bengals, so he deserves love here. Still, he has to throw more touchdown passes. Andy Dalton is healthy now, so that’ll help.
6. Andrew Luck, Colts — In the last two weeks, Luck has completed 60 of 80 passes for 9.5 yards per attempt, eight touchdowns, one interception and a passer rating of 132.4. Oh, and Indy has outscored divisional opponents 85-34 in two blowout victories to get back to 2-2.
7. DeMarco Murray, Cowboys — Where would the 3-1 Cowboys be without Murray? Probably a lot worse off than 3-1. And yeah, running backs rarely win this award, but Murray is just the fourth player in NFL history to start a season with four straight 100-yard performances on the ground. The other three players in that club? Jim Brown, O.J. Simpson and Emmitt Smith.
8. Aaron Rodgers, Packers — It’s been rocky at times early, but Rodgers is still the league’s second highest rated passer. Without him and his 9-to-1 touchdown-to-pick ratio, 2-2 Green Bay would likely be 0-4.
9. Tony Romo, Cowboys — Also a rough start but now it’s smooth sailing for a guy who is quietly the league’s ninth highest rated passer.
10. Matthew Stafford, Lions — Two games in which he’s posted a passer rating above 116.0 and the Lions are leading the NFC North at 3-1. Stafford doesn’t have MVP stats right now, but he’s in the race…and so is Detroit.
