During Sunday’s blowout of the Seattle Seahawks fans started the MVP chant for Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback Brett Favre.
Favre threw four touchdown passes and was 22-of-25 for 213 yards on Sunday. On the season, he’s thrown 21 touchdowns against three interceptions. He also leads the league in quarterback rating at 112.1.
Predictably, Favre’s teammates and the Minnesota media are also jumping on the MVP bandwagon.
“He deserves it,” receiver Sidney Rice said of the MVP chants. “He’s doing a tremendous job and leading this team, and taking us to a whole other level.”
I’m fairly indifferent to the whole thing, but a case can certainly be made for Favre. In addition to the stats, he’s (unfortunately) taken the Vikings to another level. The Vikings are 9-1 and have essentially locked up the NFC North. None of this would have happened if Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels were the Vikings starting quarterback.
I’m not ready to hand the award to Favre because Peyton Manning and to a lesser degree, Drew Brees and Cedric Benson, will likely figure prominently in the conversation, but it’s hard to make a case against Favre, even for me. And believe me, I’d like to.
Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | Ave | Yards/Gm | TD | Int | Long | Sack | Rate | |||
Brett Favre | QB | 216 | 310 | 69.7 | 2,482 | 8.0 | 248.2 | 21 | 3 | 63 | 21 | 112.1 | |
Peyton Manning | QB | 271 | 388 | 69.8 | 3,171 | 8.2 | 317.1 | 21 | 9 | 80T | 8 | 102.7 | |
Drew Brees | QB | 218 | 320 | 68.1 | 2,746 | 8.6 | 274.6 | 22 | 9 | 66 | 13 | 105.8 | |
Att | Att/Gm | Yards | Ave | YPG | TD | Long | 1st | 20+ | 40+ | Fum | |||
Cedric Benson | RB | 205 | 22.8 | 859 | 4.2 | 95.4 | 6 | 28T | 36 | 7 | 0 | 1 |
The major difference between Favre and the other top quarterbacks this season is his efficiency. While the completion percentages are similar, Favre has tossed six fewer interceptions than both Manning and Brees. That’s fairly un-Favre, but having running back Adrian Peterson certainly takes some pressure off.
On the other hand, the Colts have neither the running game or the defense the Vikings do. Manning has simply carried that team on his back.
While Benson has helped lift the Bengals similarly to how Favre has improved the Vikings, it’s going to be tough for Benson to beat out one of these quarterbacks.
The wild card is each team’s record. Both the Colts and Saints are undefeated. Until they lose, it’s hard to put anyone ahead of Manning and Brees in the conversation.
Right now, I’d argue that Manning is the horse to beat, but if Favre continues the play the way he has thus far, he’ll definitely be in the conversation.
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