Brady’s 5 TDs throw him into MVP race

Pats rebound from opening night loss; QB earns consecutive AFC mentions

From Week 1 through Week 17, USA TODAY Sports’ NFL staff will be handicapping the race for league MVP. A first-place vote is worth five points, a second-place three, and a third-place one. Our MVP tracker after Week 3’s games: 1. QB Alex Smith, Chiefs (19

points): He maintains his season-long lead by the slimmest of margins after throwing for (just) 155 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday’s win over the Chargers, a victory that left the Chiefs and Falcons as the NFL’s only undefeated teams. Smith has thrown seven TD passes, second in the league, and has yet to throw an interception. Factor in his charttopping 77.4% completion rate

and 132.7 passer rating — both on early pace to break league records — and Smith is off to the best start of his career in a year when he appears to be auditioning for his next job. Last week: 1

2. RB Kareem Hunt, Chiefs

(18 points): His 172-yard rushing outburst in Sunday’s win nearly propelled him past Smith. But Hunt’s production continues to shape what could be a rookie season for the ages. His leagueleading 538 yards from scrimmage are 24 shy of Billy Sims’ record after a player’s first three career games. However, Hunt did carve a place in history with his 69-yard TD run against the Chargers, making him the first player to reach the end zone from beyond 50 yards in his first three games. Oh, and Hunt has quickly bolted to the top of the rushing chart, his 401 yards 113 more than second-place Dalvin Cook, another rookie. LW: 3

3. Tom Brady, Patriots (16

points): It didn’t take long to get back into the race despite a horrific performance on opening night. But Brady was named AFC player of the week following his last two efforts and has now earned the title a record 29 times. After leading another of his seemingly expected escape acts against the Texans on Sunday — Brady finished with 378 yards, five TDs and zero interceptions — he’s now pacing the NFL with eight touchdown throws and 1,092 yards. LW: unranked

4. Aaron Rodgers, Packers (1 point): He gets a deserved mention coming off a stellar comeback Sunday — his 3-yard, tying TD pass to Jordy Nelson with 17 seconds left in regulation proof positive that no one in the league has Rodgers’ arm talent. And he continues to get the job done even while being sacked a league-most 13 times while operating a flat offense that’s forced him to complete an NFL-high 89 passes by virtue of a league-most 134 throws. LW: unranked

MADDIE MEYER, GETTY IMAGES Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, right, has thrown eight touchdown passes in his last two games.