Throughout the the waning weeks of the 2016 season, as it became clear that the Arizona Cardinals had fallen out of contention for a playoff spot, there were still a lot of writers and analysts who believed that David Johnson deserved to be named the NFL MVP.

The 2015 third-round draft pick was in the midst of one of the most prolific seasons by a running back in league history — but it was hard to watch him put the Cardinals offense on his back like Superman every week, only to see them lose. There’s something about a player’s proximity to failure that takes the wind out of their MVP sails.

Related Todd Gurley is 2nd Rams player ever to score 17 TDs through 14 games

Plus, while running backs were the go-to candidates for Most Valuable Player consideration in the early to mid-2000s, the award has gone to quarterbacks every year since Tom Brady won it in 2007 – with the exception being Adrian Peterson in 2012. The NFL is a pass-first league, and the QBs are the ones who do the passing.

However this season, Todd Gurley might have the best case that any running back has had in years. Gurley’s performance through 14 games for the Los Angeles Rams in 2017 is nearly identical to Johnson’s last season.

Query Results Table Rush Rush Rush Rush Rece Rece Rece Rece Rece Rece Rece Scor Scor Rk Age Year Tm G W L T Att Yds Y/A TD Tgt Rec Yds Y/R TD Ctch% Y/Tgt TD Pts 1 Todd Gurley 23 2017 RAM 14 10 4 0 257 1187 4.62 13 74 54 630 11.67 4 73.0% 8.51 17 102 2 David Johnson 24 2016 CRD 14 5 8 1 260 1138 4.38 13 109 73 800 10.96 4 67.0% 7.34 17 104 View Original Table

Generated 12/18/2017. Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com Generated 12/18/2017.

Most importantly, Gurley is contributing at that level on a 10-4 team that is playoff bound. With one more win the Rams will secure the NFC West title and could very likely head to the postseason as the No. 3 seed. He’s been a huge part of one of the most monumental season-to-season turnarounds in NFL history, and there are still two games to go.

If Gurley stays on pace over the final two games of the season, he would be just the second player in NFL history to finish a season with 13,000+ yards rushing, 15+ TD and 700+ yards receiving — along with Marshall Faulk in 2000. Johnson came really close last year, finishing with 1,239 yards rushing for 16 TD and 879 yards receiving.

What Gurley has done this season as a running back is impressive on its own merit, but combined with his production as a receiver, it makes him not just a worthy MVP candidate – but probably the most worthy as Week 15 wraps up.