By Larry Rupp
It’s a tale as old as time. The NFL playoff stretch is right around the corner and one quarterback is starting to ramp it up. That man would be Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Don’t look now, but the 22-year veteran leads all candidates to be named the NFL MVP.
Brady has become the odds-on favorite at +300 to take home the prestigious award, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. Keep in mind he opened the season with the third-best odds. The rest of the top five is rounded out by Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen (+600), Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford (+1000), Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (+1000) and Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers (+1000).
This might be Tom Brady’s most unbreakable record pic.twitter.com/APl2BQU1ea
— SB Nation (@SBNation) November 23, 2021
This shouldn’t come as a major surprise given the Buccaneers find themselves toward the top of the NFC standings past the midway point of the season. Tampa Bay seems to have a stranglehold of the NFC South, and with only one elusive first-round bye up for grabs, expect the Bucs’ starter to have his eyes on the prize.
Of course, the former sixth-round pick led his squad to the Super Bowl last year and was notably snubbed as the MVP. Instead, the quarterback he defeated in the NFC championship game ended up winning the award (Rodgers). That may not be the case this time around. Brady is on pace to shatter his season totals from last year in a number of statistical categories including passing yards, passing touchdowns and completion percentage.
It’s important to note that Brady hasn’t been perfect this season by any means, though. The seven-time Super Bowl champion has thrown eight interceptions across 10 starts and has looked a bit wobbly at times. However, the MVP award is not about who can put together the most flawless performance of the year. It’s about leadership and value to the team. And let’s just say Brady has been able to show those two things in bunches so far.
Tom Brady lives for football 🐐 pic.twitter.com/H10TCCKxBb
— PFF Bet (@PFF_Bet) November 17, 2021
Brady’s leadership is shining on an offense that ranks amongst the top three NFL teams on a per-game basis in points, total yards and first downs. He is aided by an arsenal that features no shortage of talented weapons. The wide receiver trio of Mike Evans, Antonio Brown and Chris Godwin is one of the best in the league when fully healthy. Add in a couple of ground-and-pound running backs in Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones, and it’s no wonder Brady is running coach Bruce Arians’ system like a machine.
In the end, it’s best to think about it like this: The NFL is constantly changing year to year in terms of defensive schemes and offensive strategies. However, Brady is 44 years old and still playing at an All-Pro level. It doesn’t get much better than that. The only question that remains is will he be able to capture his fourth MVP award? That is yet to be seen.
Picture Credit: Wikimedia
