2011 NFL MVP Race: Ranking the Top 4 Candidates After Week 15

Realistically, there are very few NFL players who are still in contention for the league's Most Valuable Player award.

While there are a number of highly-talented players who have put up impressive performances this year, what differentiates the league's MVP from just a great player is not the fact that he just performedd well as an individual nor that he contributed in a big way to his team's overall effort—it's that he set himself so far apart from every other player in the league that he deserves special recognition.

Here are four players who have done just that and thus are worthy of winning the award.

QB Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is likely the top contender to win the NFL's Most Valuable Player award this year, which is saying a lot considering the glut of high-level quarterback play we've seen this season.

Rodgers is almost single-handedly responsible for the Packers' 13-1 record, with over 300 of the Packers' average 397 total yards per game coming via Rodgers' arm and 40 of their 52 total touchdowns scored in the passing game.

On the season, Rodgers has completed 68.1 percent of his 473 pass attempts for 4,360 yards, 40 touchdowns and six interceptions. He's also netted three rushing touchdowns and has gained 239 yards on the ground.

Rodgers is also one of three quarterbacks on pace to break Dan Marino's single-season passing yardage record. Though he might not be the first to get there, he will probably surpass that number before the year is out.

There's likely no other player so solely responsible for his team's overall success as Rodgers. With the Packers as dominant a team as ever, there's more than enough evidence to name Rodgers as the favorite to win the NFL's MVP award this season.

QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

In any other year, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees would be the undisputed winner of the NFL's Most Valuable Player award, but with what the Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers has accomplished, his performance has fallen by the wayside.

I find this to be terribly unfortunate; in my opinion, it is Brees and not Rodgers who is more worthy of the award, though it may not ultimately play out that way.

Among the three quarterbacks on pace to break Dan Marino's single-season passing yardage record, Brees is going to be the first to do so and should end up with the record in his name when all is said and done.

At the helm of the league's most productive passing offense, Brees is averaging 341.4 yards per game, has completed an astounding 71.5 percent of his 583 passing attempts, has scored 37 touchdowns to 11 interceptions and ran in a touchdown this year.

All of those numbers, aside from touchdowns and interceptions, are better than Rodgers'. Where he lacks—scores, interceptions—are results of things Rodgers and the Packers just don't do.

Rodgers takes fewer risks when under pressure (and is pressured less often than Brees), and the Saints have a more productive running game, with 14 rushing touchdowns on the year.

Those facts, however, will likely see Brees coming in a close second in MVP voting this year. It's a shame that someone having such an amazing season will not be rewarded for it, but no one can deny how talented a player Brees is, and it wouldn't be an upset victory should he win the award.

RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew is a long-shot candidate to win the NFL's Most Valuable Player award this season, but considering all that he's done for his team, he deserves to be in the discussion.

The 4-10 Jaguars would likely have one or zero wins to their name without Jones-Drew, whose 1,683 total yards and 10 total touchdowns this year make up the majority of his team's 2,588 total offensive yards and 14 scores on the year.

Jones-Drew's numbers break down thusly: He's carried the ball 294 times for 1,334 yards and seven scores and has caught 36 passes for 349 yards and three more touchdowns. He's averaging 120.2 all-purpose yards per game, is the league's leading rusher and has the second-best overall yardage total on the year.

He's had just one game in which he's rushed for fewer than 80 yards and has notched his third consecutive season with 1,300 or more yards.

There's no more productive offensive player in the league not playing quarterback than Jones-Drew. Though he will likely be overlooked for this year's award, he deserves to nab a fair share of votes simply because his effort, and his consistently high level of production is almost too good to be true.

QB Tom Brady, New England Patriots

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is having an amazing season, the second-best of his career, but because of the efforts of the Packers' Aaron Rodgers and the Saints' Drew Brees, he's the odd man out when it comes to the league MVP discussion.

Brady, like Brees and Rodgers, is well on his way to shattering Dan Marino's single-season passing yardage record. He's completed 66.2 percent of his 530 passes, for 4,593 yards, 35 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

He's averaging 328.1 yards per game and has nine 300-plus yard passing days to his name this season, including one for 423 and one for 517 passing yards.

Brady makes his receivers and fellow offensive teammates better just by being on the field, but it doesn't hurt that he's surrounded by some seriously elite talent.

Thanks to tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez and wide receiver Wes Welker, Brady's Patriots have earned the top spot in the AFC and are heavy favorites to both reach and win the Super Bowl this year.

Because of all the attention given Rodgers and Brees this year, Brady has been kind of forced out of the MVP conversation. But he deserves to be part of it—with the kind of year he's having, Brady just can't be ignored.