A big question mark as the NFL season ends is who will be selected as the most valuable player.
This year, multiple names were floated for the MVP title including Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp, and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
On Thursday night’s NFL Honors broadcast, Rodgers was crowned the NFL MVP for the second consecutive season and for the fourth time in his career.
FOUR-TIME MVP. 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆@AaronRodgers12 | #NFLHonors pic.twitter.com/vC9MbFQcTb
— NFL (@NFL) February 11, 2022
Only Peyton Manning has more MVP awards on his resume; he had five.
Was Rodgers the right choice to win this year’s MVP award?
The answer is yes, and here are three reasons why.
3. He Makes The Packers Playoff Contenders
The Packers may have drafted Jordan Love in 2020 as Rodgers’ replacement, but they are not yet prepared to play Love.
Rodgers leads this team in what appears to be an effortless fashion.
When he was not playing in Week 9 because of COVID-19, the Packers, led by Love, lost the game to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Love went 19 for 190 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
The mighty Packers’ offense mustered only 7 points and lost 13-7.
Without Rodgers, the Packers are not playoff contenders.
He makes that much of a difference to this team which is part of the reason why he was named MVP this season.
“Let Jordan Love become QB1” pic.twitter.com/Tieowukxfv
— luke (@JERRYRElNSDORF) September 13, 2021
2. He Had A Great Season
Rodgers continues to put up great numbers year after year.
His productivity has not slowed down as Ben Roethlisberger‘s did.
This was his 10th season (out of 17) throwing for over 4,000 yards.
He had 37 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions.
Those numbers reinforce that his accuracy is amazing, and he is not prone to throw bad balls very often.
Over Aaron Rodgers' last 72 games, he's thrown 156 TD passes.
That's more TD passes than any Bears QB has thrown in the franchise's 101 year old history. #GoPackGo #OwnYou pic.twitter.com/W9KckZOhwj
— Eli Berkovits (@BookOfEli_NFL) February 9, 2022
1. Off-The-Field Issues Do Not Count For MVP Selection
Those who disagree with Rodgers’ selection have various reasons for doing so.
Brady had a good season and was the sentimental favorite since he announced his retirement.
Kupp was equally deserving, but the award traditionally goes to quarterbacks so even though he put up amazing numbers, wide receivers are at a disadvantage.
Rodgers’ off-the-field positions drew criticism also.
Awarding him the MVP honor does not condone any of that.
It rewards his football performance only.
Even the most ardent of Rodgers fans wish he would have been more transparent about his vaccination status before getting COVID-19 and potentially risking more players on his team because of his behavior.
In the end, Rodgers was fantastic on the field, and that is why he got the MVP award.
Conclusion
One thing we learned with the announcement of Rodgers as MVP is that 2022 is going to be a lot different for Rodgers and the Packers than 2021 was.
He plans to make a decision very soon about his 2022 plans.
From Super Bowl Live: The good feelings between the #Packers and QB Aaron Rodgers was evident last night. pic.twitter.com/7NVhZjflrr
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 11, 2022
There do not appear to be any bad feelings and issues to work out with the Packers front office as there were leading into the 2021 season.
We cannot wait to hear Rodgers’ plans.
NEXT: Aaron Rodgers Has Already Declared Himself NFL MVP
Vinnie says
Answer: NO. He ONLY won based on status, from prior build-up. He did not have a stellar year, especially an MVP season. What Kupp did is MVP worthy. He stepped out of his own shell to commit to the numbers he produced. Rodgers had a basic PACKERS type season. They were NOT that impressive and should have lost a few games they were lucky to win in the end. I would say the Packers had a DOWN year versus others in recent times.
What a popularity contest. Rodgers is solid, but by no means the best or top 5 best QB all time. He is so overrated. Farve got a little extra nod being a Packer when they were on top.
Rodgers was the MVP of his own team, but lacked anything other players that were slated had produced.