With a sub 60 completion percentage, a mere 17 touchdowns to seven interceptions and, if it holds, his lowest passer rating in 10 years (throw out 2008), this hardly seems anything remotely close to an MVP caliber season by anyone’s standards, let alone Tom Brady. The Patriots’ Sunday night comeback win engineered by Brady over arch rival Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos however embodied everything Brady and his team stands for.
Brady was far from perfect— his team generated no offense to speak of through the first 30 minutes of the game. In fact, the Patriots scored more points for Denver score than they did for themselves. But the unflappable Pats entered the second half with renewed vigor, despite the noticeable handicap of having no inspiration for it.
Thirty-one unanswered points later, the world was reminded of Brady’s enormous heart. A fortuitous bounce helped the Pats seal the deal, but the statement had been made long before. The moxie and poise under pressure, mixed with brilliant competitiveness — which bordered on sociopath-like levels on occasion — allowed him to haul his team out of the fire against a team they now trail by just one game for the top seed in the AFC playoffs (Belichick was pretty great that night too).
Across the field on the opposing sideline stood Peyton Manning, the presumptive Most Valuable Player for the 2013 season. Manning has been in the driver’s seat for the award since opening night when he flambéed the Baltimore Ravens for seven touchdowns. But even he was powerless to put a stop to the Patriots machine in the second half. Not for nothing, Manning has been lights out all season and deserves to win the award as of now. Yet as of microcosms go, this game was pretty spot on.
Sidebar: It should be pointed out that Brady’s statistical dominance over Manning doesn’t tell the full story of this game. Peyton played a decent game and considering his team had a big lead thanks to creating three turnovers, and it made sense to run the ball. The Denver run game was humming, by the way. So anyone overly critical of Manning’s performance is mistaken. The outcome does however reinforce HHSR’s claim that Denver is not to be trusted outdoors in the winter in a big game situation.
In a year where seemingly everything has gone wrong for New England, the Patriots still hold a cozy three game lead in the AFC East and, looking at their schedule, could cruise to a 13-3 season. Considering that two of their three L’s came on controversial referee decisions on the final play, the Pats really have only been beaten convincingly once this season.
Sidebar: And if you don’t believe Rob Gronkowski was interfered with versus the Carolina Panthers, look no further than A.J. Green’s Hail Mary catch against the Ravens for an example how far away from a play a guy can be and yet the pass can still be considered “catchable”.
In a season devoid of any marquee performances, this was Brady’s magnum opus. Meanwhile, Manning’s finest hour came in Week One. Now ask yourself, can a player really have a signature MVP caliber performance in Week One?
Probably not.
Still, Manning’s numbers are superior enough to more than likely take home the hardware for the record fifth time. And Brady would have to contend with the likes of Drew Brees, Jamaal Charles and even Cam Newton for the honors. That said, the award should not automatically go to guy with the best stats on the team with the best record. The voters managed to escape this archaic line of thinking last year when Adrian Peterson nudged out Manning for the MVP award. More than anything, this year’s vote could come down to the philosophical take on what makes an MVP.
This honor should always be recognized in the context of “value”. Putting this to the ole porn test (bare with me for a second), “most valuable” is always challenging to diagnose, but you know it when you see it.
Brady’s magnificence in the last half of Sunday’s game…yep, we definitely saw it. And what else have we come to expect from him at this point? Brady tends to thrive in less than ideal circumstances— Tom Terrific has helped New England win multiple Super Bowls while throwing to David Givens and handing off to Antowain Smith.
Barring some extreme changes, Peyton will still win MVP and would be more than deserving. But after Sunday night, the race for the NFL’s highest individual honor has suddenly gotten a lot more interesting.
At least it should have.