Skip to main content
Cal Sports Report

Cal in NFL: Did Aaron Rodgers Increase MVP Lead Over Patrick Mahomes?

How would you measure the Rodgers-Mahomes battle for the top individual prize, and is Derrick Henry in the picture now?
Jake Curtis|
Cal in NFL: Did Aaron Rodgers Increase MVP Lead Over Patrick Mahomes?
Cal in NFL: Did Aaron Rodgers Increase MVP Lead Over Patrick Mahomes?

Former Cal star Aaron Rodgers probably improved his chances of winning a third MVP award with his performance in the Packers' 31-24 victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

Rodgers and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes appear to the the top candidates for the MVP award with three games left, although Titans running back Derrick Henry is making a late push.

Rodgers was not the only ex-Cal player with an impressive performance Sunday as Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen continues to lead the league in receptions, and Texans wideout Chad Hansen continues his unlikely success story.

However, the attention is on Rodgers, who was a star at Cal in 2003 and 2004.

Rodgers' entered the day as the NFL leader in passer rating, with Mahomes in second place.

On Sunday, Rodgers went 26-of-33 for 290 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and an impressive 133.6 passer rating, which will increase his league lead in the passer rating category. He also ran 6 yards for a touchdown, so he accounted for all four Green Bay touchdowns.

Here is his first touchdown pass Sunday:

Mahomes also had a productive game in the Chiefs' 33-27 win over the Dolphins, going 24-for-34 for 393 yards and two touchdowns. But he also threw three interceptions, which pushed his passer rating for the game down to 91.9. Mahomes added five rushes for 9 yards.

The individual statistics are in Rodgers' favor. Along with a passer-rating advantage, Rodgers has a league-leading 39 touchdown passes to 35 for Mahomes, while Rodgers had thrown just four interceptions campared with eight for Mahomes.

But Mahomes has one big stat in his favor: The Chiefs are 12-1 compared with the Packers' 10-3, and MVP voters typically favor a player on a dominant team.

On the subjective side of the consideration, it seems Rodgers' is carrying more responsible for his team's success than Mahomes, who has a wide array of talent at his disposal. Rodgers has Davante Adams, but does not have the weapons that Mahomes has.

Meanwhile, Derrick Henry of the Titans (9-4) had 215 rushing yards in Sunday’s 31-10 victory over the Jaguars, and he has 1,532 yards on the ground for the season. If he averages 156 yards over the final three games that would give him 2,000 for the season, and a player who reaches that milestone for a team that finishes 11-5 or 12-4 would have to get MVP consideration.

However, only four of the seven players who rushed for 2,000 yards or more in a season won the MVP, and one of those seven (Barry Sanders in 1997) had to share the award with a quarterback (Brett Favre).

A quarterback has won the MVP award each of the past seven years and 12 of the past 13 seasons. The only exception was 2012, when Vikings running back Adrian Peterson won the award after rushing for 2,097 yards. He was the last player to reach the 2,000-yard mark. The two 2,000-yard rushers before him – Jamal Lewis in 2003 and Chris Johnson in 2009 – were not NFL MVPs. Eric Dickerson still holds the single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards set in 1984, but he was not named the MVP that year.

Having said all that, the MVP is still likely to come down to Rodgers and Mahomes with three games left.

Other former Cal players also had big days Sunday.

---Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen had nine receptions or 52 yards and touchdown in a 20-17 victory over the Falcons. Allen began the day tied with the Bills' Stefon Diggs for the league lead in receptions with 90, and Allen has forged ahead with 99 for the season.   He is likely to surpass his single-season career high of 104 catches achieved last year.

Diggs played in the late game Sunday against Pittsurgh.

Here is Allen's TD catch:

---Texans wide receiver Chad Hansen had another productive day against Chicago in his second NFL game of the season. After being called up from the practice squad last week, Hansen had 101 receiving yards in the Dec. 6 loss to the Colts. He was elevated from the practice squad again this week and had a team-high seven receptions for 56 yards in Houston’s 36-7 loss to the Bears on Sunday.

In his only two NFL games since 2017, Hansen has 12 receptions for 157 yards, which is more than the nine catches for 94 yards that he had in his entire pro career before last week.

---Dolphins running back Patrick Laird, who was elevated to the second-string running back spot this week, was instrumental in Miami’s final touchdown drive that got the Dolphins close against the Chiefs, although Kansas City ultimately won 33-27.

Laird finished with four carries for 19 yards and one reception for 4 yards. On the Dolphins’ 75-yard touchdown drive that got them within 30-24 with 4:25 left in the game, Laird had runs of 9, 3 and 5 yards and a pass reception for 4 yards. Laird had another 4-yard catch on that drive that was canceled by a Kansas City penalty.

---Lions wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. had four catches for 48 yards in Detroit's loss to the Packers, and he had a 23-yard catch on the Lions' last possession, which resulted in a field goal to close the deficit to 31-24.

---Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan made his 142nd consecutive start, the third-longest active streak in the NFL, and he had one tackle and knocked down one pass attempt in New Orleans' 24-21 loss to the Eagles.

---Giants linebacker Devante Downs has been bumped from the starting lineup, but did play in the 26-7 loss to the Cardinals and recorded three tackles, included two solo stops.

---Jets rookie safety Ashtyn Davis is still listed as a starter but he missed Sunday’s game against the Seahawks with a foot injury he sustained in last week’s game.

---Falcons rookie safety Jaylinn Hawkins had one tackle in Atlanta's loss, and that tackle came on kickoff coverage.

---Cowboys long-snapper L.P. Ladouceur played in his 250th consecutive regular-season game in the loss to the Bears. That is the longest active streak in the NFL and the sixth-longest run of games played in NFL history. Including playoffs, Ladouceur has played in 259 straight games.

---Texans punter Bryan Anger averaged 43.0 yards on four punts in the loss to the Bears.

---Steelers nose guard Tyson Alualu faced the Bills Sunday night.

---Rams quarterback Jared Goff led his team to victory in Thursday’s 24-3 win over the Patriots. Goff was 16-for-25 for 137 yards, one touchdown, one interception and a 74.9 passer rating. He ran four times for 11 yards, but was sacked once for a loss of 9 yards. The important statistic is that the Rams are 9-4 and are looking good for a playoff berth.

---Ravens center Patrick Mekari plays against the Browns Monday night.

Cover photo of Aaron Rodgers by Tim Fuller, USA TODAY Sports

.

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by searching: @si.calsportsreport

Click the "follow" button in the top right corner to join the conversation on Cal Sports Report on SI. Access and comment on featured stories and start your own conversations and post external links on our community page.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

Home/Football