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The greatest rivalry of all time goes like this:

1. Peyton Manning (No. 1 overall pick) vs. Tom Brady (No. 199).

2. One Super Bowl vs. Three.

3. 55 TDs vs. 50.

4. 515 TDs vs. 381.

5. 67,000 yds. vs. 51,000.

6. 97.9 QBR vs. 96.1.

You have to admit that there is a lot to consider in the history of these two greats. But the most important stat, in my humble opinion, is a simple win to loss ratio. And that was decidedly in Brady's court, even before this contest in week nine got out of hand.

Tommy boy held a 10-5 advantage, certainly a commanding lead in head-to-head battles with Peyton. But just in case there was a shadow of doubt (what with all the records and all), this has to count for something. Brady owns Manning.

So... what else did we learn today?

1. This New England Patriot defense is one of the best they have ever fielded.

I'm not alone in this; Rodney Harrison said the same thing in post-game comments. They may have surrendered 438 yards to Manning's offense, but also caused two turnovers. This has become Manning's Achilles Heel against the Patriots. Denver may have stolen Aqib Talib from New England, but Belichick one-upped them by signing Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner (a fair trade-off in the eyes of Patriot fans).

2. Turnovers and Special Team play will kill you.

I've already mentioned the two picks, but when your Special Teamers give up a touchdown, that is like a dagger in the morale of the whole team.

3. Rob Ninkovich is way underated.

I keep hearing commentators say that Ninkovich is just okay. But he keeps proving them wrong by making plays like he did against Denver today. Manning should have seen the 6'3" 260# linebacker dropping into coverage, but threw the ball right into his hands. Ninkovich has four sacks on the season to add to the INT today, the fifth of his career. In five years with New England he has totaled 27.5 sacks. And he plays both linebacker and defensive end.

4. The Denver Bronco defense is overated.

They were ranked first against the run, and 12th against the pass through eight weeks. The Patriots had no better, but no worse rushing stats today than in previous weeks. But they DID outrush Denver by about 50%. But they could not stop Brady and co. when it counted: in the red zone. The Denver defense allowed four TDs, each to a different receiver. We all thought the Denver receiving corps would present nightmarish mismatches for the Patriot defense, but the opposite was true come the end of this game.

It would be negligent of me not to mention a few specifics that killed Denver and propelled Brady and the Patriots to the victory. How about Rob Gronkowski's circus catch down at the two yard line? And then there was the aforementioned 84 yard punt return TD by Julian Edelman, now the franchise record holder in that dept. in team history.

Stephen Gostkowski was solid, hitting field goals upon command, while Brady threw a cool 33/53 for 333 yds, four TDs, and just one INT (his first in five games). And a good portion of that was TE Gronkowski, eclipsing 100 yards for the third time this season. His TD catch gives him seven on the year, and makes him the third fastest player to reach 50 TDs (59 games as compared to Jerry Rice's 61 games).

Although snow was expected to be a factor, the storm was gone and field cleared before game time. This was a simple mano-a-mano test of strength. Brady won, sealing his legacy as the better mano.

The greatest rivalry of all time goes like this:

1. Peyton Manning (No. 1 overall pick) vs. Tom Brady (No. 199).

2. One Super Bowl vs. Three.

3. 55 TDs vs. 50.

4. 515 TDs vs. 381.

5. 67,000 yds. vs. 51,000.

6. 97.9 QBR vs. 96.1.

You have to admit that there is a lot to consider in the history of these two greats. But the most important stat, in my humble opinion, is a simple win to loss ratio. And that was decidedly in Brady's court, even before this contest in week nine got out of hand.

Tommy boy held a 10-5 advantage, certainly a commanding lead in head-to-head battles with Peyton. But just in case there was a shadow of doubt (what with all the records and all), this has to count for something. Brady owns Manning.

So... what else did we learn today?

1. This New England Patriot defense is one of the best they have ever fielded.

I'm not alone in this; Rodney Harrison said the same thing in post-game comments. They may have surrendered 438 yards to Manning's offense, but also caused two turnovers. This has become Manning's Achilles Heel against the Patriots. Denver may have stolen Aqib Talib from New England, but Belichick one-upped them by signing Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner (a fair trade-off in the eyes of Patriot fans).

2. Turnovers and Special Team play will kill you.

I've already mentioned the two picks, but when your Special Teamers give up a touchdown, that is like a dagger in the morale of the whole team.

3. Rob Ninkovich is way underated.

I keep hearing commentators say that Ninkovich is just okay. But he keeps proving them wrong by making plays like he did against Denver today. Manning should have seen the 6'3" 260# linebacker dropping into coverage, but threw the ball right into his hands. Ninkovich has four sacks on the season to add to the INT today, the fifth of his career. In five years with New England he has totaled 27.5 sacks. And he plays both linebacker and defensive end.

4. The Denver Bronco defense is overated.

They were ranked first against the run, and 12th against the pass through eight weeks. The Patriots had no better, but no worse rushing stats today than in previous weeks. But they DID outrush Denver by about 50%. But they could not stop Brady and co. when it counted: in the red zone. The Denver defense allowed four TDs, each to a different receiver. We all thought the Denver receiving corps would present nightmarish mismatches for the Patriot defense, but the opposite was true come the end of this game.

It would be negligent of me not to mention a few specifics that killed Denver and propelled Brady and the Patriots to the victory. How about Rob Gronkowski's circus catch down at the two yard line? And then there was the aforementioned 84 yard punt return TD by Julian Edelman, now the franchise record holder in that dept. in team history.

Stephen Gostkowski was solid, hitting field goals upon command, while Brady threw a cool 33/53 for 333 yds, four TDs, and just one INT (his first in five games). And a good portion of that was TE Gronkowski, eclipsing 100 yards for the third time this season. His TD catch gives him seven on the year, and makes him the third fastest player to reach 50 TDs (59 games as compared to Jerry Rice's 61 games).

Although snow was expected to be a factor, the storm was gone and field cleared before game time. This was a simple mano-a-mano test of strength. Brady won, sealing his legacy as the better mano.

The greatest rivalry of all time goes like this:

1. Peyton Manning (No. 1 overall pick) vs. Tom Brady (No. 199).

2. One Super Bowl vs. Three.

3. 55 TDs vs. 50.

4. 515 TDs vs. 381.

5. 67,000 yds. vs. 51,000.

6. 97.9 QBR vs. 96.1.

You have to admit that there is a lot to consider in the history of these two greats. But the most important stat, in my humble opinion, is a simple win to loss ratio. And that was decidedly in Brady's court, even before this contest in week nine got out of hand.

Tommy boy held a 10-5 advantage, certainly a commanding lead in head-to-head battles with Peyton. But just in case there was a shadow of doubt (what with all the records and all), this has to count for something. Brady owns Manning.

So... what else did we learn today?

1. This New England Patriot defense is one of the best they have ever fielded.

I'm not alone in this; Rodney Harrison said the same thing in post-game comments. They may have surrendered 438 yards to Manning's offense, but also caused two turnovers. This has become Manning's Achilles Heel against the Patriots. Denver may have stolen Aqib Talib from New England, but Belichick one-upped them by signing Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner (a fair trade-off in the eyes of Patriot fans).

2. Turnovers and Special Team play will kill you.

I've already mentioned the two picks, but when your Special Teamers give up a touchdown, that is like a dagger in the morale of the whole team.

3. Rob Ninkovich is way underated.

I keep hearing commentators say that Ninkovich is just okay. But he keeps proving them wrong by making plays like he did against Denver today. Manning should have seen the 6'3" 260# linebacker dropping into coverage, but threw the ball right into his hands. Ninkovich has four sacks on the season to add to the INT today, the fifth of his career. In five years with New England he has totaled 27.5 sacks. And he plays both linebacker and defensive end.

4. The Denver Bronco defense is overated.

They were ranked first against the run, and 12th against the pass through eight weeks. The Patriots had no better, but no worse rushing stats today than in previous weeks. But they DID outrush Denver by about 50%. But they could not stop Brady and co. when it counted: in the red zone. The Denver defense allowed four TDs, each to a different receiver. We all thought the Denver receiving corps would present nightmarish mismatches for the Patriot defense, but the opposite was true come the end of this game.

It would be negligent of me not to mention a few specifics that killed Denver and propelled Brady and the Patriots to the victory. How about Rob Gronkowski's circus catch down at the two yard line? And then there was the aforementioned 84 yard punt return TD by Julian Edelman, now the franchise record holder in that dept. in team history.

Stephen Gostkowski was solid, hitting field goals upon command, while Brady threw a cool 33/53 for 333 yds, four TDs, and just one INT (his first in five games). And a good portion of that was TE Gronkowski, eclipsing 100 yards for the third time this season. His TD catch gives him seven on the year, and makes him the third fastest player to reach 50 TDs (59 games as compared to Jerry Rice's 61 games).

Although snow was expected to be a factor, the storm was gone and field cleared before game time. This was a simple mano-a-mano test of strength. Brady won, sealing his legacy as the better mano.

The greatest rivalry of all time goes like this:

1. Peyton Manning (No. 1 overall pick) vs. Tom Brady (No. 199).

2. One Super Bowl vs. Three.

3. 55 TDs vs. 50.

4. 515 TDs vs. 381.

5. 67,000 yds. vs. 51,000.

6. 97.9 QBR vs. 96.1.

You have to admit that there is a lot to consider in the history of these two greats. But the most important stat, in my humble opinion, is a simple win to loss ratio. And that was decidedly in Brady's court, even before this contest in week nine got out of hand.

Tommy boy held a 10-5 advantage, certainly a commanding lead in head-to-head battles with Peyton. But just in case there was a shadow of doubt (what with all the records and all), this has to count for something. Brady owns Manning.

So... what else did we learn today?

1. This New England Patriot defense is one of the best they have ever fielded.

I'm not alone in this; Rodney Harrison said the same thing in post-game comments. They may have surrendered 438 yards to Manning's offense, but also caused two turnovers. This has become Manning's Achilles Heel against the Patriots. Denver may have stolen Aqib Talib from New England, but Belichick one-upped them by signing Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner (a fair trade-off in the eyes of Patriot fans).

2. Turnovers and Special Team play will kill you.

I've already mentioned the two picks, but when your Special Teamers give up a touchdown, that is like a dagger in the morale of the whole team.

3. Rob Ninkovich is way underated.

I keep hearing commentators say that Ninkovich is just okay. But he keeps proving them wrong by making plays like he did against Denver today. Manning should have seen the 6'3" 260# linebacker dropping into coverage, but threw the ball right into his hands. Ninkovich has four sacks on the season to add to the INT today, the fifth of his career. In five years with New England he has totaled 27.5 sacks. And he plays both linebacker and defensive end.

4. The Denver Bronco defense is overated.

They were ranked first against the run, and 12th against the pass through eight weeks. The Patriots had no better, but no worse rushing stats today than in previous weeks. But they DID outrush Denver by about 50%. But they could not stop Brady and co. when it counted: in the red zone. The Denver defense allowed four TDs, each to a different receiver. We all thought the Denver receiving corps would present nightmarish mismatches for the Patriot defense, but the opposite was true come the end of this game.

It would be negligent of me not to mention a few specifics that killed Denver and propelled Brady and the Patriots to the victory. How about Rob Gronkowski's circus catch down at the two yard line? And then there was the aforementioned 84 yard punt return TD by Julian Edelman, now the franchise record holder in that dept. in team history.

Stephen Gostkowski was solid, hitting field goals upon command, while Brady threw a cool 33/53 for 333 yds, four TDs, and just one INT (his first in five games). And a good portion of that was TE Gronkowski, eclipsing 100 yards for the third time this season. His TD catch gives him seven on the year, and makes him the third fastest player to reach 50 TDs (59 games as compared to Jerry Rice's 61 games).

Although snow was expected to be a factor, the storm was gone and field cleared before game time. This was a simple mano-a-mano test of strength. Brady won, sealing his legacy as the better mano.

My MVP Rankings are not solely who should get the MVP if the season ended today. It takes in risk factors such as potential injuries, degree of difficult schedule, etc. These rankings are essentially my expectations for where the MVP voting will be at the end of the year. Please enjoy!

In a year where a running back is the current clear favorite for the award, you might say that a quarterback has little chance to steal the MVP from a guy that is on pace to shatter records. Highlight those words “on pace”. Demarco Murray is not going to stay upright with the number of carries he is getting. It just can’t happen.

The most carries by a running back in any season of the NFL is 416 by Larry Johnson in 2006. He added 41 receptions that year. Sick stats giving him nearly 2200 total yards and 19 scores! Only five times have running backs reached 400 carries in a year.

Murray is currently on pace for 478 total touches for 2450 yards and 16 scores (and nine lost fumbles). He would have a cake-walk to the MVP. But Murray’s health has always been an issue. In 2013 he missed two games and had two others with seven carries or less during an injured stretch. In 2011 he missed six games because of injury. So it is not a matter of IF, but WHEN, Demarco Murray gets hurt.

With that said, the league will turn its attention to a QB. Right now the list of potential QBs that could take the MVP should include Manning, Luck, Rivers, and Rodgers.

Each of this QBs lead teams currently 5-2 or better. Each has thrown at least 17 TDs. But there are certain stats that set each one apart.

Andrew Luck leads the league with 2331 yards through seven games. He is the only QB with a winning record currently on pace for 5,000 or more passing yards (5328 to be exact). His 21 TDs, including two rushing, is also first in the league. These are strong points. But he has many weaknesses too. He has needed 302 pass attempts to get to that total, and is completing under 66% of his passes, lowest among these four QBs. He also has seven interceptions on the year and a lost fumble.

Philip Rivers has looked very good this year. He has only three turnovers to go with 1961 passing yards and 17 scores. His 67.4% completion rate is 2^nd to Manning of the four. His yards per attempt at 8.53 is the best of the four. But he has also had the luxury of playing only two teams that rank better than 15^th in passing yards allowed including the Cardinals and Jaguars who rank 30^th and 31^st. Playing against a stronger defense like the Chiefs he finished with just over 200 yards, 2 scores, and an interception. Let’s see how the rest of his season plays out.

Peyton Manning is certainly the most well known QB in the game and he is definitely making a case for another MVP. He is averaging 308 passing yards per game and is on pace for 51 touchdowns! His 68.7% completion rate is the highest of the four as is his 118.2 QB rating. With that said, Denver still had 6 games against top 14 pass defenses including three games against top four teams. If Denver is able to win their games against the Chargers (week 8), Patriots (week 9), and chargers (week 15), I expect Manning will not even play in weeks 16 and 17 as Denver will have the top seed locked up. This will hurt Manning’s stats on the year.

Finally for all of those who are ready to R-E-L-A-X, enter Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers isn’t top 10 in passing yards in the league despite not having his bye yet. In fact he is 21^st in passing yards per game behind the likes of Austin Davis, Mike Glennon, and Bryan Hoyer! But what sets Rodgers apart is his perfection. He doesn’t have the yards because he doesn’t need to. Rodgers comes out so hot that he doesn’t even finish games. Twice this season he has sat out the entire fourth quarter of games and had limited pass attempts in the second half at all.

Rodgers has 18 touchdowns, but only one interception. He has nearly 200 pass attempts since throwing that sole INT. His QB rating is just behind Mannings at 117.3. And thanks to a much stronger conference, Rodgers will be playing til the final minute in week 17. In Rodgers first three outings he had only five scores. Since then he has 13 TDs in only four games. If he keeps up the pace set over the last four games, he would finish the season with 47 scores and one pick. Surely he will have a bad game and throw a pick or two, but his pace is amazing. If he leads the Packers to a 13-3 record with 45 scores and fewer than five picks, watch out.

With that all said, here are my current MVP rankings:

5. Luck

4. Rivers

3. Murray (even with injury)

2. Rodgers

1. Manning

My MVP Rankings are not solely who should get the MVP if the season ended today. It takes in risk factors such as potential injuries, degree of difficult schedule, etc. These rankings are essentially my expectations for where the MVP voting will be at the end of the year. Please enjoy!

In a year where a running back is the current clear favorite for the award, you might say that a quarterback has little chance to steal the MVP from a guy that is on pace to shatter records. Highlight those words “on pace”. Demarco Murray is not going to stay upright with the number of carries he is getting. It just can’t happen.

The most carries by a running back in any season of the NFL is 416 by Larry Johnson in 2006. He added 41 receptions that year. Sick stats giving him nearly 2200 total yards and 19 scores! Only five times have running backs reached 400 carries in a year.

Murray is currently on pace for 478 total touches for 2450 yards and 16 scores (and nine lost fumbles). He would have a cake-walk to the MVP. But Murray’s health has always been an issue. In 2013 he missed two games and had two others with seven carries or less during an injured stretch. In 2011 he missed six games because of injury. So it is not a matter of IF, but WHEN, Demarco Murray gets hurt.

With that said, the league will turn its attention to a QB. Right now the list of potential QBs that could take the MVP should include Manning, Luck, Rivers, and Rodgers.

Each of this QBs lead teams currently 5-2 or better. Each has thrown at least 17 TDs. But there are certain stats that set each one apart.

Andrew Luck leads the league with 2331 yards through seven games. He is the only QB with a winning record currently on pace for 5,000 or more passing yards (5328 to be exact). His 21 TDs, including two rushing, is also first in the league. These are strong points. But he has many weaknesses too. He has needed 302 pass attempts to get to that total, and is completing under 66% of his passes, lowest among these four QBs. He also has seven interceptions on the year and a lost fumble.

Philip Rivers has looked very good this year. He has only three turnovers to go with 1961 passing yards and 17 scores. His 67.4% completion rate is 2^nd to Manning of the four. His yards per attempt at 8.53 is the best of the four. But he has also had the luxury of playing only two teams that rank better than 15^th in passing yards allowed including the Cardinals and Jaguars who rank 30^th and 31^st. Playing against a stronger defense like the Chiefs he finished with just over 200 yards, 2 scores, and an interception. Let’s see how the rest of his season plays out.

Peyton Manning is certainly the most well known QB in the game and he is definitely making a case for another MVP. He is averaging 308 passing yards per game and is on pace for 51 touchdowns! His 68.7% completion rate is the highest of the four as is his 118.2 QB rating. With that said, Denver still had 6 games against top 14 pass defenses including three games against top four teams. If Denver is able to win their games against the Chargers (week 8), Patriots (week 9), and chargers (week 15), I expect Manning will not even play in weeks 16 and 17 as Denver will have the top seed locked up. This will hurt Manning’s stats on the year.

Finally for all of those who are ready to R-E-L-A-X, enter Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers isn’t top 10 in passing yards in the league despite not having his bye yet. In fact he is 21^st in passing yards per game behind the likes of Austin Davis, Mike Glennon, and Bryan Hoyer! But what sets Rodgers apart is his perfection. He doesn’t have the yards because he doesn’t need to. Rodgers comes out so hot that he doesn’t even finish games. Twice this season he has sat out the entire fourth quarter of games and had limited pass attempts in the second half at all.

Rodgers has 18 touchdowns, but only one interception. He has nearly 200 pass attempts since throwing that sole INT. His QB rating is just behind Mannings at 117.3. And thanks to a much stronger conference, Rodgers will be playing til the final minute in week 17. In Rodgers first three outings he had only five scores. Since then he has 13 TDs in only four games. If he keeps up the pace set over the last four games, he would finish the season with 47 scores and one pick. Surely he will have a bad game and throw a pick or two, but his pace is amazing. If he leads the Packers to a 13-3 record with 45 scores and fewer than five picks, watch out.

With that all said, here are my current MVP rankings:

5. Luck

4. Rivers

3. Murray (even with injury)

2. Rodgers

1. Manning

A young buck in the NFL is around 22 years old, a middle aged man is about 27 years old, and a senior citizen in the NFL is basically any player over the age of 30.

Of course there are different positions where longevity is more typical like the Quarterbacks, Kickers, and punters. 

There have been some incredible stories of longevity in NFL history. QBs Warren Moon and Vinny Testaverde both played at 44 years old.

One of the greatest players in NFL history at any position, Jerry Rice, played WR until the age of 42. 

Bruce Smith, the all-time sack leader with 200, played until he was 40 years old. 

We are witnessing history today as these 5 studs continue to show the young kids how it's done.

A young buck in the NFL is around 22 years old, a middle aged man is about 27 years old, and a senior citizen in the NFL is basically any player over the age of 30.

Of course there are different positions where longevity is more typical like the Quarterbacks, Kickers, and punters. 

There have been some incredible stories of longevity in NFL history. QBs Warren Moon and Vinny Testaverde both played at 44 years old.

One of the greatest players in NFL history at any position, Jerry Rice, played WR until the age of 42. 

Bruce Smith, the all-time sack leader with 200, played until he was 40 years old. 

We are witnessing history today as these 5 studs continue to show the young kids how it's done.

A young buck in the NFL is around 22 years old, a middle aged man is about 27 years old, and a senior citizen in the NFL is basically any player over the age of 30.

Of course there are different positions where longevity is more typical like the Quarterbacks, Kickers, and punters. 

There have been some incredible stories of longevity in NFL history. QBs Warren Moon and Vinny Testaverde both played at 44 years old.

One of the greatest players in NFL history at any position, Jerry Rice, played WR until the age of 42. 

Bruce Smith, the all-time sack leader with 200, played until he was 40 years old. 

We are witnessing history today as these 5 studs continue to show the young kids how it's done.