AP for MVP

I'm a huge Packers fan. There's nothing more I like seeing than their rivals lose. But as I was sitting at a bar yesterday watching Green Bay take down the Chicago Bears, I couldn't keep from glancing over at the Vikings-Rams game, for one reason and one reason only: Adrian Peterson.

Watching what I did yesterday only confirmed my belief that Peterson should the the NFL's MVP this season. The argument basically comes down to Peyton Manning vs. AP, and in my opinion, here's the tale of the tape.

-COMING OFF INJURY
I don't think you can give the edge to either here. Peyton Manning's neck injury was certainly career threatening, and continues to be to this day, but in terms of a purely football sense, AP's knee injury he suffered (still less than a year ago!) was just as devastating.

-PRODUCTIVITY
Peterson wins here. He's got 1,182 yards and is just 293 yards away from breaking Eric Dickerson's all-time record. That's 147.5 yards per game over the last two. Peterson is capable of going off for 200+ any given day, much like the 212 he racked up yesterday. I think he's going to break it.

Manning on the other hand, is having a heck of a season in his own right. He's topped the 4,000-yard passing marker, has 31 touchdowns and has a passer rating of 103.5. Those numbers are impressive, but as of right now, he sits in 3rd place in TD passes, 4th in passer rating and 6th in yards.

-VALUE TO TEAM
This is the part that I feel has been overlooked in the MVP debate so far. The Broncos were a playoff team in 2011-12, and they needed a Tebow miracle, but the did still win a playoff game. They have an elite defense, talented WRs, and a running game. The Broncos would have still been good with a replacement-level quarterback.
I thought the Vikings were going to suck this year. I didn't think Adrian would be back and healthy, but he's been nothing short of spectacular in surprising us all. Without Peterson, I can comfortably say the Vikings are 4-10 right now, rather than 8-6.

In my mind, and it's hard to come to terms with defending a Vikings player, but AP is unquestionably the NFL MVP.