Some years, the NFL most valuable player vote is easy. This is not such a year.Strong candidates abound, and no ones case is clear-cut. The best player missed four games. The Dallas Cowboys have not one, but two rookies who can make a claim. And good luck trying to sort out the relative value of what Derek Carr is doing in Oakland compared to what Matt Ryan is doing in Atlanta or what Matthew Stafford is doing in Detroit.Our panel of 12 ESPN experts took a shot. Did we get it right? Odds are, most of you wont think so. But with five very valuable weeks still to play, here is how we see the NFLs MVP race -- guaranteed to change:1. Derek Carr, QB | Oakland Raiders?Regular-season passing:?281-for-423 (66.4 percent); 3,115 yards; 22 TDs; 5 INTs; 66.7 Total QBRCase for Carr:?This season the Raiders have won five games in which theyve trailed in the fourth quarter. Carr has a 122.5 passer rating with 10 touchdown passes and one interception in fourth quarters and overtimes this year. Oakland is also 5-0 on the road, where Carr has passed for 11 touchdowns and one interception this season. The quarterback has come through at a high level in the toughest of situations for the Raiders all year.Case against Carr: His?numbers overall dont stand out among the other quarterbacks competing for this award. Carr is ninth in completion percentage, 14th in yards per attempt and 14th in Total QBR. Hes aces in the fourth quarter, but if youre looking for a reason to downgrade him, it seems there are other candidates performing better in the first three periods.2.?Matt Ryan, QB?| Atlanta Falcons?Regular-season passing:?262-for-380 (68.9 percent); 3,516 yards; 26 TDs; 6 INTs; 82.5 Total QBRCase for Ryan:?The numbers absolutely sparkle. Third in yards, third in touchdowns, third in Total QBR, third in completion percentage, second in passer rating and first in yards per attempt at 9.25. Ryan is performing at an elite level on a first-place team. And he has erased his biggest issue from 2015: He doesnt have a single game this year with more than one interception.Case against Ryan:?The Falcons are 7-4, which is a nice record, but its not the 9-2 or 10-1 that the other candidates on this list can claim. In a year with a lot of strong MVP candidates such as this, odds are the eventual winner will come from one of the elite teams at the top. Atlanta hasnt proved to be that just yet.3.?Tom Brady, QB?| New England Patriots?Regular-season passing:?175-for-256 (68.4 percent); 2,201 yards; 18 TDs; 1 INTs; 85.0 Total QBRCase for Brady:?I mean, its Tom Brady. He belongs in the discussion every year. And since his return from his four-game suspension, he has been as good as or better than anyone else in the league. Eighteen touchdowns and one interception? 6-1 with a banged-up Rob Gronkowski and an underachieving defense? You can argue that Brady is the most valuable commodity in the entire NFL, in a vacuum.Case against Brady:?Were not in a vacuum. Were in an NFL season, and Brady has played in 64 percent as many games as the other candidates on our list have. If youre going to give the MVP to a guy who has played seven games over a collection of guys whove played 11, the formers performance needs to have been considerably better than those of the latter. It hasnt. The Patriots went 3-1 without him. Could the Falcons have gone 3-1 without Ryan? Could the Raiders have gone 3-1 without Carr? Participation carries value. For 36 percent of the season that has been played so far, Brady was of no value to the Patriots whatsoever.4.?Ezekiel Elliott, RB?| Dallas Cowboys?Regular-season rushing:?243 carries; 1,199 yards; 11 TDs Regular-season receiving: 24 receptions; 303 yards; 1 TDCase for Elliott:?The Dallas offense works only if it has a dominant running game. Elliott is leading the league in rushing yardage with a 156-yard margin over former Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray, who has played one more game than Elliott has this season. Elliott has 71 rushing first downs, which is 18 more than anyone else in the league. He averages 4.9 yards per carry and is the only player in the league with at least 10 runs of 20 or more yards. He also can help as a receiver and a blocker. Elliott makes the most efficient offense in the league go.Case against Elliott:?Theres a case to be made that anybody could have success running behind the Cowboys all-world offensive line. Darren McFadden had more than 1,000 yards and averaged 4.4 yards per carry last year in Dallas. The season Murray had in Dallas in 2014 earned him a free-agent fortune. The offensive line, as a group, could be more valuable than the back running behind it, in which case, how can he win?5.?Dak Prescott, QB?| Dallas Cowboys?Regular-season passing:?231-for-340 (67.9 percent); 2,835 yards; 18 TDs; 2 INTs; 86.0 Total QBR Regular-season rushing: 180 yards; 5 rushing TDsCase for Prescott:?Hes the starting quarterback on the leagues best team. Not only is he a nimble decision-maker who protects the ball and manages the game responsibly, but he also has shown the ability to hit a big throw down the field in a big spot. After the Cowboys went 1-11 without Tony Romo last season, thered have been value in any replacement who could even be competent. Prescott has been much more, to the point of taking Romos job.Case against Prescott:?As with fellow rookie Elliott, Prescott benefits from the brilliance of his offensive line. 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Ronaldo produced a spectacular individual performance on Tuesday, scoring all three goals and guiding Portugal into the next years World Cup in Brazil with a 3-2 victory in Sweden. The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Eli Manning threw a go-ahead 15-yard touchdown pass to rookie Sterling Shepard in the third quarter as the New York Giants rallied for their fifth straight win with a 22-16 decision over the Chicago Bears on a windy Sunday.Manning (21 of 36 for 227) also threw a third-quarter touchdown to Will Tye, Rashad Jennings scored on a 2-yard run and Robbie Gould kicked a 46-yard field goal on a day he missed two extra points in a gusty MetLife Stadium.The Giants (7-3) got a second-half shutout from their defense and a game-clinching interception from Landon Collins as injuries on the offensive line finally caught up with the Bears (2-8) and left Jay Cutler under constant pressure.The winning streak is New Yorks longest in the regular season since 2010, while the Bears starts matches their worst since 2002.Down 16-9 at the half, the Giants grabbed the lead in the third quarter, scoring on their first two possessions. The second featured a third-down scramble by Manning and 48-yard pass to Victor Cruz on the next play. Manning ran toward the line on what looked like another run, then found Cruz behind the defense.Shepard split a seam in the middle of the Bears defense three plays later, but Gould missed the extra point keeping things tense.Chicago got to the New York 30 in the final two minutes but Jason Pierre-Paul had a 13-yard sack and Cutler was picked off by Collins, his fifth interception in the last four games.The Bears scored their first three possessions and took a surprising 16-6 lead. Cutler found Miller for a 19-yard TD on the opening possession. A 34-yard pass to Miller set up Barths 40-yard field goal annd Langfords short TD lunge put Chicago ahead halfway through the second quarter.dddddddddddd couple of fourth-down gambles got the Giants nine points in the half. A 15-yard pass to Shepard on a fourth-and-2 at the Bears 17, set up Jennings TD run. A 5-yard pass to Jennings on fourth-and-2 at Bears 33 set up Goulds 46 yard field goal with 3:33 left in the half.INJURIES: Leonard Floyd, the Bears first round draft pick from Georgia, was removed from the field on a stretcher with 5:53 to go against the Giants with a neck injury. He gave a thumbs-up to teammates leaving the field. ... Miller had to leave the game early in the second half with a foot injury. ... Giants receiver Roger Lewis Jr. and Bears cornerback CreVon LeBlanc left in the first-half with concussions.ACTIVE-INACTIVE: Cruz returned to the lineup after missing a game with an ankle injury. Tight end Larry Donnell was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. ... Bears right tackle Bobbie Massie (concussion), nose tackle Eddie Goldman (ankle) and defensive end Mitch Unrein (back) were inactive. ... Chicago receiver Alshon Jeffery served the first game of a four-game suspension for violating the NFLs policy on performance-enhancing substances. Bears also were missing guard Kyle Long, who was placed on injured reserve last week with an ankle and shoulder injuries.UP NEXTBears: Host the Titans on Sunday.Giants: Start two-game road trip at Cleveland on Sunday.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '