Which Young QB Tom Brady Views as a ‘Dark Horse in the MVP Race’

Tom Brady might be loving himself some Jordan Love. 

When Brady unveiled his most recent power rankings, FOX Sports’ lead NFL analyst gave Love more than just a shout-out as he bumped the Green Bay Packers from fifth to third in his top 10. 

“The Pack went on the road to get a big win in an emotional matchup against their old buddy, Aaron Rodgers,” Brady said. “Pittsburgh’s one of the toughest places to play in the NFL, and Green Bay trailed for most of the game before a monster fourth quarter. 

“That’s the kind of calm under pressure I like to see from a young quarterback, who might be starting to ascend this season. Keep an eye on Jordan Love as a dark horse in the MVP race.” 

Love arguably had the best performance of his career in the Packers’ comeback 35-25 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. He completed 29 of 37 passes for 360 yards and three touchdowns, with his 134.2 passer rating being the highest in a game he’s ever started. 

Tom Brady’s Week 8 Power Rankings 🚨

The highlight of Love’s performance came in the second half, when he completed 20 straight passes. That was something not even Rodgers did in his Packers career, where he was a four-time MVP winner, as Love rallied Green Bay from a 16-7 deficit.

Of course, it takes more than one game for someone to win MVP, and Love has some ground to make up. In terms of the odds, Love’s currently tied for the eighth-best odds to win the award, trailing Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Drake Maye, Matthew Stafford, Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor, via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Most experts’ lists also don’t have Love among the few top candidates for MVP entering Week 9, either. FOX Sports’ Eric D. Williams has Love listed as an honorable mention and outside of the top five in his most recent MVP top-five ranking. 

But there’s still plenty of season left, and Love is in a good spot to possibly make a jump on the MVP leaderboard. The Packers are 5-1-1 and hold the best record in the NFC, with recent history favoring quarterbacks who help their team finish with a top-two seed in their conference. Love’s also got strong numbers this season, ranking ninth in passing yards (1,798), fourth in yards per attempt (8.4) and fourth in passer rating (112.8). He also has 13 touchdown passes to just two interceptions in seven games.

And maybe Love will get a boost from the Packers’ unusual history with 27-year-old quarterbacks. As you might know by now, Bart Starr, Brett Favre and Rodgers each won their first championship with the Packers in their age-27 season, and Love turns 27 on Saturday. However, Favre is the only one of those three quarterbacks to win MVP in their age-27 season. 

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