Aaron Rodgers vs. Drew Brees: Which Quarterback Deserves the NFL MVP Award?

Although Tom Brady made it to Super Bowl XLVI, the NFL MVP race is mainly between Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers and Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints.

That said, both are quite deserving of the award so let's break down each player and make a prediction at the end.

Aaron Rodgers

Not helped by a defense whatsoever, Rodgers and the Packers offense had no choice but to try to outscore every opponent on the schedule. Unfortunately, their season fell short thanks to the eventual NFC champion Giants, but it wasn't Rodgers' fault.

For starters, the Packers finished the regular season 15-1 but also as the No. 32-ranked pass defense and allowed 412 total yards per game.

The worst of it, is that the defense may have led with 31 interceptions but only 29 sacks were accumulated. As for Rodgers' production, he threw for 4,643 yards, 45 touchdowns to just six interceptions and had a 122.5 rating.

In addition, Rodgers completed 68.3 percent of his throws and averaged 9.25 yards per attempt. So in short, every time Rodgers dropped back to pass, Green Bay came 0.75 yards away from moving the chains.

We also tend to forget, but the Packers ranked just No. 27 in rushing offense averaging 97.4 per game on the ground. Therefore, had it not been for Rodgers thwarting every defense, Titletown wouldn't have had the opportunity to repeat.

Oh yeah, and he sat the final regular-season game against Detroit, so putting up these numbers through 15 games is remarkable.

Drew Brees

Much like Rodgers, Brees was part of a team who had no idea how to play defense. The Saints finished with the No. 30-ranked pass defense and allowed an average of 368 total yards per game.

In other words, had it not been for Brees' ability to spread the ball around New Orleans had no shot to contend in the NFC. On the year, Brees had a record-setting performance with 5,476 passing yards, 46 touchdowns to 14 picks and a rating of 110.6.

Brees also finished with a 71.2 completion percentage and averaged 8.34 yards per attempt. Throughout the regular season, four different players caught 50-plus passes and five different players scored six or more touchdowns.

Backed by a defense that couldn't stop anyone or even force turnovers (just nine picks and 33 sacks), the Saints' entire season was predicated on how well Brees performed.

One major edge that Brees also has over Rodgers in addition to passing yards and completion percentage is playoff numbers. There, Brees threw seven touchdowns to just two picks in two games, averaged 464 yards per contest and New Orleans scored 77 points.

Unfortunately, Brees' season was also cut short in the divisional round but he at least kept playing well in January.

Prediction

If there's any one major difference that's not getting much attention in deciding between these two players, it's each team's rushing offense.

This season the Packers, as mentioned, finished No. 27 and averaged only 97.4 per game. Well, Brees was significantly helped in this category compared to Rodgers.

Despite having the NFL's No. 1-ranked passing offense, the Saints also ranked No. 6 in rushing by averaging 133 rush yards per game. That's roughly 36 more yards than Green Bay or 3.5 more first downs per game and greater than one-third of the field.

With football being such a field-position game, it takes a vehement amount of pressure off a quarterback when his ground game is keeping a defense honest. Well, Brees definitely had that luxury because he was sacked only 24 times to Rodgers' 36.

However, Green Bay also bested the Saints in Week 1.

Add in Rodgers throwing almost as many touchdowns despite playing in one less game, while still averaging almost more than one yard per attempt, and Brees is a half-step back.

Then again, to really settle the debate, Rodgers was selected as first-team All-Pro quarterback whereas Brees was selected as the backup.

John Rozum on Twitter.