DETROIT — I feel like we can run the table. I really do.
Aaron Rodgers said that six games ago. The team was in disarray. Rodgers was seen as a falling star, a has-been on the decline. Then he called his shot. It was close to Jim Fassel saying the Giants were going to the playoffs. It was a batter pointing to the outfield fence. It seemed impossible, ridiculous, nonsensical and silly.
Yet here we are and Rodgers' guarantee of winning six straight has come to fruition, and we should all learn, we should never forget, or doubt, just how good this damn guy is.
I feel like we can run the table. I really do.
And the guarantee is a small part of the reason why—after beating Detroit, 31-24, at Ford Field, to win the NFC North—Rodgers should be the MVP.
And he should be. To me, it's not close. Rodgers may lose to Tom Brady or Matt Ryan, but this award should go to him.
His game against Detroit wasn't his greatest statistically, but it was among his most valuable. He did everything. He ran for firsts. Threw for scores. Dodged and weaved and Mike Vick-ed his way to touchdowns, like the one that put the game out of reach, where he ran for what seemed like five hours and threw a football so perfectly it seemed impossible.
Late in the game, he caught the Lions napping and hurried the snap of the ball. Detroit was caught with 12 men on the field. The next play, the Packers got a first and the clock kept running. Typical Rodgers.
I feel like we can run the table. I really do.
The Packers will host New York on Sunday and while the Giants are hot, and can beat any team, anytime, anywhere, the same could be said about Rodgers and his Packers.
During the six-game win streak, Rodgers has thrown 15 touchdowns and no interceptions (his last pick was on Nov. 13 against Tennessee). But his real MVP case, which differs from Brady's and Ryan's, is that Rodgers has won and made the postseason despite a crumbling infrastructure.
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This year, the Packers lost their starting two runners to injury. They moved a wideout to the backfield. They brought in Christine Michael, who was cut by the Seahawks and before that played in Dallas and Washington. They have a guy named Ripkowski back there, for goodness sake.
They lost another corner Sunday night. What is that, their 15th corner who's been hurt? Is Ty Montgomery going to play there, too?
Jordy Nelson is excellent—the most underrated player in all of sports (I said it). No one outside of Packers fans had ever heard of Geronimo Allison, yet Rodgers turned him into a lethal player. The defense has played better, but it's not overly talented.
Everything has all been fueled by Rodgers. He has a league-high 40 touchdown passes. And he did all of this while fighting through a nasty calf injury.
They had fullbacks playing running back. Running backs playing wide receiver. Wide receivers playing running back. Safeties playing corner.
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Brady would be a good choice for MVP. Ryan would be a good choice. Rodgers is the best choice.
I feel like we can run the table. I really do.
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The argument against Rodgers is that he was mediocre for too lengthy a part of the early season. And? Yeah? So? Do we punish Brady for missing four games? Do we punish Ryan for having a mostly intact team all season? No and no.
Part of being an MVP is putting your team on your shoulders and carrying it. Was Rodgers part of the reason why the Packers had four straight losses and were 4-6 before running the table? Yes, but I don't think Ryan could do what Rodgers just did. Rodgers won six straight, and had seven straight games without a pick, with one of the most injured teams in playoff history.
Brady could do it, yes, but Brady wouldn't have extended plays the way Rodgers did against the Lions. The way Rodgers always does.
This isn't as much an anti-Brady or -Ryan vote as it is a pro-Rodgers one. Rodgers was on another level to finish the season. A higher one than Ryan or Brady.
NFL Network's research arm says only three players in history have gone at least seven games with three touchdown passes and no interceptions in each: Brady in 2007 (he was the MVP that year), Peyton Manning in 2013 (ditto), Rodgers in 2014 (ditto) and now Rodgers again.
And remember, Rodgers has put up these numbers as Packer after Packer was carted off all season.
"It was a leap of faith," Rodgers said after the game of his guarantee.
Who should be MVP? Tom Brady Dak Prescott or Ezekiel Elliott Matt Ryan Aaron Rodgers Submit Vote vote to see results Who should be MVP? Tom Brady 12.5%
Dak Prescott or Ezekiel Elliott 8.4%
Matt Ryan 9.9%
Aaron Rodgers 69.2% Total votes: 2,302
It was more than that. It was a jump off of a mountaintop. If the Packers didn't win them all, Rodgers would have been ripped.
"I believe in myself and my abilities," he added, "but I also believe in this team."
MVP arguments cause people to lose their minds. On Twitter, when I suggested Rodgers is the MVP, people told me to fellate them, and to kill myself (not necessarily in that order).
This vote for Rodgers isn't a vote against others, and I get how great Brady and Ryan have been; it's just that Rodgers is more valuable to his team than the other candidates.
I feel like we can run the table. I really do.
Rodgers called his shot and he did it. Along the way, he took a physically beat-up team and carried it to a division title. He was statistically great, smart, athletic and a leader.
It's why he's the MVP.
Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.