Can Eagles QB Wentz hang on after injury?
From Week 1 through Week 17, USA TODAY Sports’ NFL staff will be handicapping the race for league MVP. A firstplace vote is worth five points, a second-place vote is worth three, and a third-place vote is worth one. Our MVP tracker after Week 14’s games: 1. QB Carson Wentz, Philadelphia
Eagles (25 points): This could be a final nod to his scintillating sophomore season, which has put him at the forefront of the MVP debate for the past two months. Before heading to the locker room with a torn ACL on Sunday afternoon, Wentz fired off his NFL-leading (and Eagles team record) 33rd TD pass on a day Philadelphia became the first team in the league to secure a division title. Having his season curtailed is likely to undermine Wentz’s candidacy — though if the Eagles go to pieces down the stretch, then perhaps not. Last week: 3
2. WR Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers (20 points): He’s making a late push to become the first receiver to ever win MVP honors. (And if Ben Roethlisberger keeps chucking it 66 times a week, Brown will very likely be the first
2,000-yard receiver in NFL history.) He is currently the league’s runaway leader for receptions (99) and yards (1,509), and business has really been booming over the past four games (39 catches,
627 yards, 6 TDs). Brown could really bolster his case with a big afternoon against the Patriots this Sunday. Last week: Unranked
3. QB Tom Brady, New England Patriots (16 points): Monday night’s loss at Miami was his worst showing of the season, a pair of interceptions and atyp- ical inaccuracy fueling speculation about the Achilles injury that’s cost him practice time. Brady continues to lead the league in passing yards (3,865) and QB rating (105.2) but has just one TD pass and three INTs in his last two outings combined. Last week: 1
4. QB Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks (7 points): There’s no player more indispensable to his team than Wilson, who remains Seattle’s primary threat with his arm (3,527 yards, 29 TDs) and legs (482 yards, 3 TDs). Wilson has now thrown a single-season record 17 fourth-quarter TD passes, and his passer rating in the final period is a mind-blowing 137.4. Still, three INTs Sunday in Jacksonville hurt his team and his overall case. Last week: 2
5. QB Philip Rivers, Los Angeles
Chargers (4 points): He’s a key figure in the Bolts’ revival from an 0-4 start, passing for 2,504 yards, 17 TDs and three INTs in the past nine games. And Rivers has done a nice job overall cutting down on turnovers this year after frequently being forced into risky decisions in recent seasons given the untenable positions he’s been thrust into. But it doesn’t appear 2017’s multi-layered adversity will prevent he and his team from making a sustained playoff push. Last week: Unranked