As we are approaching the stretch run of the NFL season, a lot of speculation has been occurring as to who will win the NFL MVP award.  With only four regular season games remaining, it seems as though the primary candidates have been narrowed down to seven players.

These candidates include, Derek Carr, Matt Ryan, Tom Brady, Ezekiel Elliot, Dak Prescott, Matthew Stafford and dark horse David Johnson.  First and foremost, Derek Carr, arguably the MVP frontrunner, had an opportunity to potentially seal the deal with a convincing win at Kansas City last night, however, Carr's mediocre performance which included completing just 17 of 41 pass attempts for 117 yards en route to a 21-13 loss to the Chiefs, hurt his chances greatly of winning the award.

Then there's the Cowboys' rookie sensations Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot who certainly have a chance of winning the award.  Both individuals have had a stellar rookie campaign thus far, and the last four games of the regular season may certainly determine if either one is worthy of winning the NFL MVP award.  Without question, either Dak or Zeke will win the Rookie of the Year award, or some may argue that they should be named CO-ROY.

When the numbers are broken down to this point, Ezekiel Elliot has carried the ball 263 times for 1,285 yards and 12 TD's, while also catching 28 passes for 322 yards and 1 receiving TD.  Prescott's stats are absolutely ridiculous for a rookie QB who was drafted in the fourth round, as he has thrown for 2,974 yards and 19 TD's with only 2 INT's, which is a QB rating of 108.6 percent.  Dak has the best QB rating in the NFL, yes even better than fellow MVP candidate Tom Brady, who happens to have just a few more years of experience that Prescott.  It's also worth noting that Elliot was expected to shine in the NFL, but Prescott has taken the league by surprise as no one could have expected this much success from the youthful rookie.

Washington Redskins v Dallas Cowboys
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Dak has also rushed for 218 yards and scored 5 TD's on the ground as well.  It goes without saying that Prescott is playing better than just about any other rookie QB in NFL history, although as I noted previously, there are still four regular season games reaming, and it is imperative that Prescott leads the Cowboys to the division title, the top seed in the NFC and one hell of a playoff run to actually be called the best rookie QB in the history of the NFL.

With all of that being said, there are few QB's who have sustained more success than Prescott during their rookie campaign, Dan Marino did lead his team to the Super Bowl in 1983, which was his rookie year.  My vote for NFL MVP to this point would be Prescott, as he has shown the poise of a 10 year NFL veteran, and has overcome numerous obstacles in several challenging games this season, and has led his team to numerous victories in doing so.  Last season the Cowboys used three backup QB's to replace Romo in Brandon Weedon, Matt Cassel and Kellen Moore, all who combined to go 1-11 in his absence.  Prescott's record of 11-1 speaks for itself this season.

Dallas Cowboys v Minnesota Vikings
(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
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The thing that people really need to realize is, there are no limits as to how great Dak can become once he fully understands the Cowboys' extensive playbook, and if the team actually allows him to fully utilize his tremendous mobility and rushing attack, then the sky could truly be the limit.  If the Cowboys clinch the division and best record in the NFC during their next couple of games, both Prescott and Elliot will be used less in the final two regular season games, as they will be meaningless.

Overall, what is being witnessed in Dallas is truly remarkable and may never happen again as both Prescott and Elliot are playing like seasoned veterans.  We shall see if one of them is named NFL MVP, or perhaps Co-NFL MVP's.

 

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