Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians says it would be a 'travesty' if QB Tom Brady doesn't win MVP

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Brady broke multiple records in the win.

Tom Brady broke the record for most touchdown passes in a season and single-season completions in the same season. (1:20)

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Bruce Arians made a strong case for his 44-yard field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter of the 41-17 win over the Carolina Panthers.

"I think if he doesn't get it, it's a travesty," he said Monday as his team began preparations to host the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round this weekend. The whole nine yards was the most completions ever. It's not a close race to me.

Brady finished the regular season with 719 passing attempts, 485 completions, 5,316 passing yards and 43 touchdown passes, all tops in the league, making him just the third quarterback along with Drew Brees and Manning to lead the league in all four major statistical categories since

Brady set a new NFL record for completions in a single season with Brady is the only two players in the history of the NFL to have multiple 5,000-yard passing seasons.

Brady broke the all-time record for most career passing yards in his Week 4 return victory over the New England. He threw his 700th touchdown pass in a 33-27 overtime victory against the Buffalo Bills.

"It shows how dedicated he is to the game of football and how talented he is," said Rob Gronkowski, a tight end for the New England Revolution. His determination week in and week out is unbelievable. It's amazing how he's able to pull it off at 44 years old, just coming out here and making great throws week in and week out.

Brady's 5,316 passing yards this year were third-most in the history of the league, behind Manning and Brees, and bested his own personal record of 5,235 passing yards in 2011. Brady's 4,990 passing yards in games 1-16 would have put him 14th all-time in single-season passing records, but he left his Week 18 game with 6:39 to go in the fourth quarter.

Brady has been voted league Most Valuable Player three times in his career. In 2007, and 2010, he was voted the NFL's offensive player of the year. He's been named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player five times: Super Bowl XXXVI, XXXVIII, XLIX, LI and LV.

"Tom's the most valuable player every year," said the player. He's always ready to go no matter what the situation is because he adjusts on the fly to his personnel and tries to get the ball into the best players' hands. He's the most valuable player every year.

He faces his stiffest competition from Green Bay Packers quarterback Rodgers, who has won the award three times in his career and was named Super Bowl XLV Most Valuable Player. A group of 50 writers choose the most valuable player award. Rodgers was a -400 favorite at the casino, while Brady was a +500 favorite.

Rodgers played one less game than Brady because he tested positive for COVID-19, but Brady still has more passing yards per game. Brady averaged 2.53 passing touchdown per game.

Rodgers' touchdown-to-interception ratio was seventh best in the league for a single season over the last 20 years, compared to Brady's 2.53. Rodgers had a 68.9% completion rate compared to Brady's 67.2%, and his Total QBR 68.7 compared favorably to Brady's 68.6.

Brady led the Bucs to a 13-4 record, the same as Rodgers' Packers, but the Packers sewed up the No. 1 seed because of their 9-3 conference record. The Packers were in the driver's seat through much of the season, which may help Rodgers' case the most, although one voter, Hub Arkush, spoke out recently saying he will not vote for Rodgers because of the QB's stance on vaccinations.

The two quarterbacks could meet in the conference title game in Green Bay, as some have predicted, which would be a repeat of last year's title game. The Packers have a 68.1% chance of reaching the conference championship, while the Bucs have a 52.3% chance. The Packers have a 37.5% chance of reaching the Super Bowl, while the Bucs have a 29.8% chance.

First, they need to get healthy. Running back Leonard Fournette and outside linebackers Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul are expected to return this week.

Leonard looks great. He's been working well. "He should be back," he said. Both of them should be back. Lavonte will be the closest, but he is starting to move around well so we'll wait and see. I'm still waiting to hear about Jamel Dean. That's the one that I'm worried about. I expect all of the guys that have been out to come back. Maybe Lavonte couldn't.

Fournette was placed on IR after he injured his hamstring in Week 15. The reserve/COVID-19 list was placed on Friday after he injured his knee in Week 16. Pierre-Paul has not played in a while because of a torn rotator cuff. David had a foot injury in Week 15.

Cyril Grayson, who caught the winning touchdown against the New York Jets in Week 17 and then left the game against the Carolinas with a injury, did not return. "It's not as bad as you thought, but his availability this week will be in question."