Is Packers' Aaron Rodgers Having an MVP-Worthy Season in 2014?

Approaching the halfway point in the season, Aaron Rodgers is having a year to remember as the leader of the 5-2 Green Bay Packers. Some feel that his current performance should place him at the front of the Most Valuable Player Award race.

He won the award in 2011.

Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette was one of the first media members to stick their neck out on the subject:

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Still, one game shy of the halfway mark in 2014, Rodgers quickly has become a leading MVP candidate. The other early front-runners are San Diego's Philip Rivers (109.4 rating and 5-2 record after Sunday's game) and Denver's Peyton Manning (110.5 rating and 4-1 record going into his game Sunday night).

For what it's worth, Rodgers after Sunday has a 117.3 rating, 5-2 record and four-game winning streak that's sure to get the attention of MVP voters.

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Last week, The Washington Post ran an article on league-leading contenders for the award. With Rivers, Andrew Luck and Manning rounding out the top three, Rodgers was listed at a cool fourth on the list.

His most recent performance should vault him higher on an updated projection.

Even former NFL scout John Middlekauff had extremely impressive words to say about the former California Golden Bear, stating that he's "arguably better" than Manning and Tom Brady in their primes, among others:

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Aaron Rodgers is arguably playing better than any QB I've seen in my 30 years of life. It's stupid how good he is

— John Middlekauff (@JohnMiddlekauff) October 19, 2014"

Part of the allure surrounding Rodgers also applies to Brady and Manning. Their ability to get the mental edge in a game is impressive.

Against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Packer Report notes that Rodgers was able to net three penalties when the Panthers were out of place defensively. Giving Rodgers plays without consequence is deadly in a game, and Rodgers is one of the best at creating them for himself.

A calculating athlete, Rodgers must get going early for the Packers to win games. During their current four-game winning streak, ESPN Stats & Info indicates he's completed 24 of 28 passing attempts in the first quarter. At the end of those first quarters, the combined score of the four games is 49-10 in favor of Green Bay.

The first-quarter trend isn't the only one following Rodgers. While giving Reggie Jackson his credit, he's making a compelling run for the "Mr. October" title:

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#Packers have won 10 straight in October. They've had to overcome Rodgers in a lot of those games. He's thrown 27 TDs/1 INT in those games.

— Packer Report (@PackerReport) October 20, 2014"

It seems as though the quarterback is hitting another milestone each week. This week, ESPN's Adam Caplan reported that he became the first passer with 18 touchdowns and one or fewer interceptions in the first seven games of a season.

Not only that, but Rodgers' one interception came on a pass which bounced off the hand of Jordy Nelson.

According to Wes Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Rodgers also managed to tie the franchise record of two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Bart Starr, who went six games without an interception.

If Rodgers is able to escape New Orleans without an interception, he'll set a new Packers record. Fortunately for him, New Orleans has only had three interceptions on the season.

At his current pace, Bleacher Report's Zach Kruse notes he'll reach a mark of 41 touchdowns to only two interceptions. That feat is impressive no matter the era, offensive scheme and opposing defense.

Against the Panthers, Rodgers' day finished with a stat line of 19 completions on 22 attempts for 255 yards, three scores in the air and no interceptions. Just shy of a perfect quarterback rating, Rodgers came in at 154.5.

As stated before, his efficiency has simply been amazing. Not many quarterbacks ever have as many touchdowns as interceptions in a day.

Rodgers also continued a streak of three-score games with no interceptions. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the only other quarterback to put a string of four of those games together in NFL history is Tom Brady.

Rodgers keeps finding himself in good company as the season progresses.

Even Packers head coach Mike McCarthy is impressed with Rodgers' performance so far this season. He told reporters that his quarterback has been playing better than during his 2011 campaign, when he won the MVP award and led the Packers to an NFL-best 15-1 record:

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I'll say this about Aaron: Aaron is a much better today than he was in 2011. His responsibility level has increased a lot since then. So, what he does during the course of the week, during the course of the game, at the line of scrimmage, the communication between Alex Van Pelt and myself, he is, in my opinion, watching him grow throughout his career, he's clearly a better player.

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It's not like there's an overwhelming mismatch that Green Bay is exploiting, either. Nelson and Randall Cobb are quality receivers, but Rodgers isn't staring down a Randy Moss, Calvin Johnson or Jerry Rice on every down.

In fact, it's near the opposite. He distributed the ball to nine targets against Carolina—something that he hadn't done since his MVP season of 2011, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com.

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#Packers' Aaron Rodgers high-fives fans as he runs off the field after Sunday's game at Lambeau Field. #NFL #5-2 pic.twitter.com/BGF9pbBHGd

— Evan Siegle (@PGevansiegle) October 19, 2014"

While writers, fans and talking heads can discuss his many accolades and accomplishments, it doesn't seem as though the signal-caller cares.

Some, such as Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, are calculating numbers that suggest he'll one day break the records of Manning and Brett Favre.

Rodgers wasn't thinking about that after Sunday afternoon's victory, though. He said in the postgame press conference that the win over the Chicago Bears—during which the Packers only had one non-scoring drive offensively—"was more efficient."

Stats are fun to discuss from the perspective of a fantasy owner. For a player, what matters most is winning.

Rodgers may win the MVP award in 2014. He may not. It doesn't appear that he'll lose sleep over the debate, though. Wood reports that his eyes are fixed on the prize:

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Aaron Rodgers asked if winning a 2nd MVP enters his mind: "I wouldn’t mind it, but it doesn’t. I’ll take a Super Bowl championship first."

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) October 19, 2014"