Aaron Rodgers

Perhaps in the interest of taking the heat off the Eagles bumbling option-passer Ronnie Brown , Giants receiver Victor Cruz had his own veer in the fourth quarter of New York's 31-27 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. On a first-and-10 from the Cards' 48 with 3 minutes, 10 seconds left, Giants quarterback Eli Manning completed a 19-yard toss to Cruz, who stumbled around without being tackled before doing a belly flop, then got up and left the ball on the ground.

Calvin Johnson, WR, Lions, right shoulder Bruce Gradkowski, QB, Raiders, shoulder Mike Brisiel, RG, Texans, sprained knee Seneca Wallace, QB, Browns, right ankle Joseph Addai, RB, Colts, right shoulder Mark Clayton, WR, Rams, right knee Trent Williams, LT, Redskins, left knee Donald Lee, TE, Packers, shoulder Jermichael Finley, TE, Packers, knee Ryan Pickett, DL, Packers, ankle ...

Eagles running back LeSean McCoy and left tackle Jason Peters were named to the Pro Football Weekly-Professional Football Writers of America all-NFL team on Monday. Right guard Danny Watkins was named to the all-rookie team. Coach of the year was the San Francisco 49ers' Jim Harbaugh. The group named Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers the MVP. Former Eagles kicker David Akers shared the Golden Toe award (best placekicker or punter) with 49ers teammate Andy Lee.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and coach Mike McCarthy were named award winners by the Maxwell Club yesterday. Rodgers is the winner of the 53rd annual Bert Bell Award as the most outstanding pro football player. McCarthy has been named the winner of the 24th annual Earle "Greasy" Neale Award as the NFL's most outstanding coach. The Bell Award was last given to a Packer in 1996, when Brett Favre won the honor. The awards will be presented at the 75th Maxwell Club awards gala at Harrah's Atlantic City on March 2.  

In a bit of a shocker, Peyton Hillis bested Michael Vick and will grace the cover of the Madden NFL 12 video game. The announcement was made on ESPN2 Wednesday afternoon. The Browns running back, a virtual unknown a year ago, beat out the Eagles quarterback in online voting by a margin of 66 percent to 34 percent and was the last man standing among a 32-player field. A little more than a million votes were registered. To get to the final round, Hillis upset Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Kansas City running back Jamaal Charles, Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan, and Baltimore running back Ray Rice.

CHICAGO - Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers celebrated another win at Soldier Field. Rodgers threw for 297 yards, including three touchdown passes to Jermichael Finley, and the Packers (3-0) shut down Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears on the way to a 27-17 victory Sunday. Rodgers led the charge, completing 28 of 38 passes. He threw his first interception of the season, when Brian Urlacher picked him off with the Packers leading, 27-17, in the fourth quarter. The Bears (1-2)

GREEN BAY - The question surprised him more than most blitzes. Someone asked Aaron Rodgers about an incomplete resume yesterday, and he teetered backward on his locker stool, looking more bemused than angry. Yes, his fumble punctuated the last play of his first and only playoff game last season. And, yes, his first-ever postseason pass attempt ended with the other team celebrating in the end zone behind him. But c'mon. He threw for four touchdowns in Green Bay's 51-45 overtime loss to Arizona last January, completing 28 of 42 passes for 423 yards.

INDIANAPOLIS - Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers has won the 2011 Associated Press NFL most valuable player award in a landslide. Rodgers earned 48 votes to two for New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees in balloting by a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL. The Packers star is the first Green Bay player honored since Brett Favre concluded a run of three straight seasons as MVP in 1997. "It means a lot to be recognized as a consistent player and contributing on my team," Rodgers said.

Aaron Rodgers now owes DeSean Jackson both an apology and a big thank you. The apology stems from Rodgers' role in recruiting Jackson, a highly sought-after receiver in high school, to the University of California, then leaving a year early before he could ever throw to him. And the thank you? "That play he made at the end of the Giants game - it really helped us out," Rodgers said yesterday. Without the Eagles' come-from-behind victory over the Giants on Dec. 19 - punctuated by Jackson's 65-yard punt return for a touchdown as time expires - Rodgers and the Packers might not be poised to play in Philadelphia Sunday.

INDIANAPOLIS - There were a lot of snickers last summer when Eli Manning had the audacity to inform us that he thought he was an elite quarterback. It's not like he beat his chest and issued a proclamation. Somebody asked him whether he thought he was an elite quarterback and he responded with a truthful answer. "What do you expect the guy to say?" Giants coach Tom Coughlin said last night after Eli led New York to its second Super Bowl title in five seasons and also collected his second Super Bowl MVP award with a 30-for-40, 296-yard, one-touchdown performance in a 21-17, come-from-behind win over the Patriots.

INDIANAPOLIS - There were a lot of snickers last summer when Eli Manning had the audacity to inform us that he thought he was an elite quarterback. It's not like he beat his chest and issued a proclamation. Somebody asked him whether he thought he was an elite quarterback and he responded with a truthful answer. "What do you expect the guy to say?" Giants coach Tom Coughlin said last night after Eli led New York to its second Super Bowl title in five seasons and also collected his second Super Bowl MVP award with a 30-for-40, 296-yard, one-touchdown performance in a 21-17, come-from-behind win over the Patriots.

INDIANAPOLIS - Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers has won the 2011 Associated Press NFL most valuable player award in a landslide. Rodgers earned 48 votes to two for New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees in balloting by a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL. The Packers star is the first Green Bay player honored since Brett Favre concluded a run of three straight seasons as MVP in 1997. "It means a lot to be recognized as a consistent player and contributing on my team," Rodgers said.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and coach Mike McCarthy were named award winners by the Maxwell Club yesterday. Rodgers is the winner of the 53rd annual Bert Bell Award as the most outstanding pro football player. McCarthy has been named the winner of the 24th annual Earle "Greasy" Neale Award as the NFL's most outstanding coach. The Bell Award was last given to a Packer in 1996, when Brett Favre won the honor. The awards will be presented at the 75th Maxwell Club awards gala at Harrah's Atlantic City on March 2.  

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Tom Brady and the New England Patriots made it to the AFC championship game with a high-powered offense that piled up points and yards. Ray Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens got there with a hard-hitting defense that made it a major challenge for opponents to move the ball. On Sunday, one of those teams will advance to the Super Bowl because, most likely, of what they do best. "We've got our hands full this week," Lewis said. "You watched what they did last week against Denver, just the way they came out and ran their offense, how efficient [Brady]

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Antrel Rolle doesn't come from the Tom Coughlin mold for the New York Giants. There's a touch of Jets coach Rex Ryan in him. The safety said what's on his mind and he doesn't care if it irritates an opponent, even if Coughlin doesn't approve of the message. And that brings us to the NFC title game on Sunday in San Francisco. The only way the Giants (11-7) don't beat the Niners (14-3) and advance to the Super Bowl in Indianapolis is if they beat themselves, a cocky Rolle said Monday, one day after New York ended the Packers' hopes for a second straight NFL title with a 37-20 win in Green Bay. The victory was the Giants' fourth straight and clearly this is a team that is playing its best football after a season marked by inconsistency.

Eagles running back LeSean McCoy and left tackle Jason Peters were named to the Pro Football Weekly-Professional Football Writers of America all-NFL team on Monday. Right guard Danny Watkins was named to the all-rookie team. Coach of the year was the San Francisco 49ers' Jim Harbaugh. The group named Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers the MVP. Former Eagles kicker David Akers shared the Golden Toe award (best placekicker or punter) with 49ers teammate Andy Lee.

FIRST TIM TEBOW lost on Saturday night, then the New York Giants won on Sunday night. In Philadelphia, there really is no God. The worst winner of the NFC East in memory, the Giants are nonetheless ticketed for the NFC Championship Game Sunday at San Francisco after a 37-20 upset of the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. That nobody saw it coming goes without saying. The hardest part is figuring out what it means. With that, on to the questions. By the transitive property of sports - which, even though it doesn't work like the transitive property of mathematics, doesn't prevent it from being invoked with alacrity - doesn't this mean that the Eagles could just as easily have found themselves in the NFC Championship Game if they had managed one more win along the way?

GREEN BAY, Wis. - For Eli Manning and the New York Giants, Lambeau Field has become a familiar launching pad. After beating the Green Bay Packers at home for the second time in four years, they only hope this trip ends the same way - at the Super Bowl. Manning threw for three touchdowns and the Giants shocked the Packers, 37-20, in an NFC divisional playoff game on Sunday. Manning threw for 330 yards, sending the Giants to San Francisco for the NFC championship game next Sunday night.

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Going into Sunday's NFC divisional playoff game against the New York Giants, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers are best known for all the fireworks they've produced on offense. That's a good thing for the Super Bowl champions, because they've been remarkably vulnerable on defense. All season, the Packers have been giving up yards in big chunks and bailing themselves out by forcing turnovers. And while the Giants might hope to slow down the game by establishing the run and keeping Rodgers on the sideline, the last meeting between the two teams - a 38-35 victory by the Packers on a last-second field goal Dec. 4 - could mean Sunday is shaping up as another fast-paced game that comes down to the last possession.

Aaron Rodgers earned his place on fantasy's Mount Rushmore with his five-touchdown performance on Christmas night, propelling millions of gleeful owners to championship glory. That's the type of overwhelming firepower you're dreaming of when you invest a first-round pick on a quarterback. Many of those who took that gamble are celebrating today. Then again, if all they got from Rodgers' masterful evening was a ticket to a Week 17 Super Bowl, they'd better party hearty now. Because their all-world quarterback won't be playing much, if at all, in the Packers' meaningless regular-season finale.