Nine weeks into the 2014 NFL regular season, here’s how we view the 10 most valuable players in football at this very moment…
1. Tom Brady, Patriots — His broad numbers are still being pulled down by the slow start, but he just beat Peyton Manning head-to-head and now has a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 22-to-3. With a 120.5 passer rating in his last five games — all wins — it might only be a matter of time before he’s running at a 2010 pace.
2. Peyton Manning, Broncos — A couple interceptions and 23 incomplete passes against Brady and the rival Patriots. This could turn into one hell of a race between Manning and Brady.
3. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers — Yet it’s Big Ben who is the hottest quarterback in the league. Twelve touchdowns and no picks in his last two games, and against decent opponents Indianapolis and Baltimore. That’s unheard of. And the Steelers have won three straight to move into contention.
4. Aaron Rodgers, Packers — Drops a spot off a bye week, just because Roethlisberger put on a show. Rodgers actually has the highest passer rating in the league at 113.6.
5. J.J. Watt, Texans — Dude had 1.5 sacks, eight pressures and five stops in yet another dominant performance. He could stop playing today and would still be defensive player of the year.
6. DeMarco Murray, Cowboys — Finally back to earth with a double-digit rushing performance, but Murray is still on pace to go over 2,000 yards.
7. Tony Romo, Cowboys — Without him Sunday against the Cardinals, the Cowboys were a mess. That just goes to show how valuable Romo is.
8. Andrew Luck, Colts — Yet another big night from the gunslinger in a prime-time road victory over the Giants. Luck is on pace to break the single-season passing yardage record.
9. Justin Houston, Chiefs — With five sacks in his last two games, Houston is now at 12 and on pace to break Michael Strahan’s single-season record. Can’t ignore that.
10. Antonio Brown, Steelers — He’s not an MVP candidate (only one receiver has ever won it) but Brown is on an absolute tear. He’s four yards short of 1,000 and also leads the league with 71 catches (nobody else has more than 60). Throw in eight touchdowns and the guy looks like an All-Pro lock.