Later Wednesday, NFC West blogger Mike Sando will begin his annual NFL MVP Watch. Let’s look at one potential MVP candidate for each AFC West team:
Denver quarterback Peyton Manning.
How it can happen: Manning will have to be completely back to the form he enjoyed prior to the neck injury that caused him to have multiple surgeries and for him to miss all of last season. At 36, that may be difficult for him to achieve. I expect Manning to be good, but I’m not sure he’s going to be MVP-level good.
Kansas City running back Jamaal Charles
How it can happen: Charles will have to probably run for 2,000-plus yards. That will be very difficult for him to achieve since he is coming back from a torn ACL and he will share the load with Peyton Hillis. But if Charles starts off great and goes crazy on the field, you never know.
Oakland running back Darren McFadden
How it can happen: McFadden would have to stay completely healthy for the first time in his NFL career and he’d need to run for around 2,000 yards and he’d need to run the Raiders to the playoffs. He has the ability to achieve it.
San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers
How it can happen: Rivers would have to carry the team on his back. He is capable. The biggest thing is for him to cut down from his interception issues of last year. He is talented enough to win the award.