Chapter 1017: Playoff Spots Locked In

When all the final regular-season games concluded, the entire league was filled with praise.

Lu Ke’s performance this season was no less impressive than the peak seasons of the four elite quarterbacks. Everything, from his glorious undefeated 16-game record to his historical high quarterback rating of 124.5; from his four NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors to his dominant quarterback stats, everything was enough to secure a place in history.

The season had just ended, and the buzz for the Regular Season MVP was already off the charts!

Besides Lu Ke, Peyton Manning, who returned from injury this season with a top-tier performance, Aaron Rodgers, who had another peak season, and Matt Ryan, who had the best season of his career, were all strong contenders for the Most Valuable Player award.

Then there was Adrian Peterson, the running back for the Minnesota Vikings. This top-tier running back, who made the Pro Bowl in his rookie season in 2007, had four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and four straight Pro Bowl selections before hitting a slump in 2011, when he missed all the major honors. This year, he bounced back with a vengeance and made history of his own.

Adrian Peterson became the second running back since Earl Campbell in the 1980 season to have seven consecutive games with at least 150 rushing yards. In addition, after being hit or tackled by defenders, Adrian still gained an incredible 1,019 yards, which is also a historical record.

Furthermore, his 2,097 rushing yards this season were just eight yards short of Eric Dickerson’s single-season record of 2,105 yards set in 1984. He unfortunately came in second. However, Adrian achieved his total in just 348 carries, averaging an astonishing six yards per carry.

Marshawn Lynch’s "Beast Mode" for the Seattle Seahawks is famous, but it’s a sporadic skill. Adrian’s consistent and powerful performance throughout all 16 games proved that he is the top candidate for the best running back in the league.

It’s worth mentioning that Adrian had a chance to set a new historical record in the final game of the regular season, but he needed to rush for 208 yards, which was even harder than Lu Ke’s five touchdowns. In the end, facing a strong defense from their division rivals, the Green Bay Packers, the Vikings won the game, but the Packers ended Adrian’s hopes of making history.

Does all of this sound familiar? You can see that the final regular-season games in the NFC West and NFC North were both filled with fireworks and tension!

Without a doubt, the 2012 regular-season MVP will be one of the five players mentioned above, with Lu Ke and Adrian being the biggest competitors.

The most surprising thing is that of the four elite quarterbacks, Drew Brees has never won the regular-season MVP. In the 2009 Super Bowl-winning season, he lost the MVP to Peyton Manning. In his peak season last year, he ran into an even stronger Aaron Rodgers. This is a small regret in Brees’s career so far.

On a side note, in 1986, New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor won the season MVP. That was the last time the regular-season Most Valuable Player award was won by a player who was not a quarterback or a running back. In the 25 years since, the regular-season MVP has been monopolized by quarterbacks and running backs.

Of those, quarterbacks have won 20 times, and running backs have won seven times. However, there were two years with a tie. The first was in 1997, a tie between Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre and Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders. The second was in 2003, a tie between Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair.

Since 2007, quarterbacks have won the regular-season MVP five consecutive times. All of them were won by the four elite quarterbacks, with Manning winning twice, Tom Brady twice, and Rodgers once. As it stands now, Lu Ke still has a huge advantage. The only question is, is he too young?

Lu Ke is only a second-year player. Is he too young for this? Doesn’t Adrian Peterson, who is in his sixth year, deserve the award more? Isn’t Drew Brees, who just had another excellent season, a better fit than Lu Ke? After all, Lu Ke is still young, and he’s only in his second season. He has a long future ahead of him, and he’ll have other chances, right?

Historically, there have been young players who have won the regular-season MVP. The award was established in 1957, and in that first season, Cleveland Browns rookie running back Jim Brown won the award. He went on to win it twice more in 1958 and 1965.

Additionally, Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton in 1977, Houston Oilers running back Earl Campbell in 1979, and Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino in 1984 all won the regular-season MVP in their second year.

Of course, we can’t forget Kurt Warner. When he won the regular-season MVP in 1999, it was his second season but his first full season, and he wrote a beautiful Cinderella story.

In other words, including Kurt Warner, there have only been five players in history who have won the regular-season MVP in their second year. And besides Warner, all of them were before the 1980s. So, what about this year? Can Lu Ke make history again?

All the answers will be revealed during Pro Bowl weekend! 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

For now, the most important thing is the wildcard games that will start in a week.

After 17 weeks of fighting, all the playoff spots for the 2012 season have been decided.

AFC

AFC West Champions: Denver Broncos, 13-3, No. 1 seed.AFC East Champions: New England Patriots, 12-4, No. 2 seed.AFC South Champions: Houston Texans, 12-4, No. 3 seed.AFC North Champions: Baltimore Ravens, 10-6, No. 4 seed.

The two wildcard teams are:

AFC South Second: Indianapolis Colts, 11-5, No. 5 seed.AFC North Second: Cincinnati Bengals, 10-6, No. 6 seed.

Overall, the AFC is still stable. The four division champions are all familiar faces. The only slightly newer team is the Houston Texans, who are in the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

The biggest surprise was the Pittsburgh Steelers falling off. Plagued by injuries this season, the Steelers finished with an 8-8 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2009. The AFC North’s 2012 season was a rollercoaster, and the Ravens and Bengals were on that rollercoaster as well, making for a thrilling and suspenseful finish. Their overall performance was the worst of the four AFC divisions.

The AFC East and AFC South are still the same. The surprise was the return of the Indianapolis Colts. Although Andrew Luck’s performance was not entirely satisfying, the Colts’ overall team strength remained. They quickly recovered from Peyton Manning’s injury. Last season, they had the first overall pick, and this season, they were back in the playoffs.

From a big-picture perspective, the only difference between the 2012 and 2011 AFC playoff teams is that the Indianapolis Colts replaced the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In fact, the main members of the strong teams and weak teams haven’t changed much. Even the Colts and the Steelers haven’t changed that much.

The former was at the bottom last year and rose this year, mainly because of Peyton Manning’s injury. After re-drafting a quarterback, they immediately returned to their previous state. The latter was the AFC’s fifth seed last year and finished seventh this year. Even though they missed the playoffs by two games, they still had a clear advantage over the other weak teams.

The weak teams like the Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Buffalo Bills remained weak teams and couldn’t make much of a splash.

Even their win-loss records were very similar, with only minor fluctuations.

This is why people often say that AFC games lack excitement and suspense.

The most notable thing in the AFC this season was not the playoff teams, but the team with the number one pick, the Kansas City Chiefs. This was undoubtedly the biggest surprise of the season.

In the offseason, the San Francisco 49ers’ former number-one draft pick, quarterback Alex Smith, was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs. This was one of the biggest trades after Peyton Manning’s.

You have to remember that in the 2011 AFC West, the Denver Broncos made the playoffs with an 8-8 record, and the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders also had 8-8 records. The Kansas City Chiefs were at the bottom of the division with a 7-9 record. Everyone said it was a race to the bottom, but for them, the playoffs were within reach.

With Manning joining the Broncos and Alex Smith joining the Chiefs, the changes in the AFC West were naturally something to look forward to.

But unfortunately, Alex suffered from severe injuries this season, mainly because of the offensive line’s poor pocket protection. He had a concussion, a right leg injury, and a shoulder injury. Although none were season-ending, his season was inconsistent and disjointed, which completely disrupted the team’s rhythm.

Moreover, the overall state of the Kansas City Chiefs in recent years has been worrying, and this year, they plummeted to the bottom.

With a 2-14 record, the Kansas City Chiefs truly hit rock bottom and earned the first overall pick in the 2013 draft.

But people’s attention is always on the winners. No one cares about the failures, and even Peyton Manning was ignored after his injury. Alex Smith was no exception. Unless Alex can come back after his injury like Manning and make a comeback, his career will be stuck in a swamp.

When Manning chose the Denver Broncos, everyone said it was a gamble. Was Alex’s choice of the Kansas City Chiefs any different?

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