Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers wins second NFL MVP award

PHOENIX – Once again, NFL MVP voters couldn't pass on voting for the best quarterback.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers won his second MVP award. It was announced on Saturday night during the "NFL Honors" show at Phoenix Symphony Hall.

Rodgers threw for 4,381 yards, 38 touchdowns and only five interceptions, leading the Packers to an NFC North championship. That was enough to turn away Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, who had 20.5 sacks and was vying to be the first defensive player to win MVP since 1986, when Lawrence Taylor won it. Watt was a unanimous choice for NFL defensive player of the year, the first time that award has been decided by a unanimous vote in the current voting setup. (Click here for a list of all the major NFL awards given out Saturday night.)

The vote wasn't all that close. Rodgers got 31 of the 50 votes, while Watt got 13. Nobody else got more than two votes.

"It’s tough, to be honest with you," Rodgers said of Watt's chances of winning an MVP award in his career. "It’s an offense-geared league and quarterback or running back usually wins this award. It’s going to be tough, but if anyone can do it, it's him."

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Rodgers also won in 2011. He's the ninth player in NFL history to win MVP multiple times, joining an impressive list that includes Peyton Manning, Jim Brown, Johnny Unitas, Brett Favre, Joe Montana, Steve Young, Kurt Warner and Tom Brady.

"That’s a great list," Rodgers said. "To be mentioned with those guys in an honor."

This time around Rodgers held off a great field of candidates that included Watt, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray, Brady and New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. Rogers fought through calf and hamstring injuries to have a great year.

"it was a tough grind to get through it, but that's what we do as players," Rodgers said, referring to his injuries.

Quarterbacks have won seven of the last eight MVP awards. Adrian Peterson, who rushed for more than 2,000 yards for the Minnesota Vikings in 2012, is the only exception during that period.

Here are the full results of the vote (with Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner, who missed five of 16 games and probably isn't one of the Seahawks' top three most valuable defensive players, getting one of the strangest votes in the history of the award, or any award):

Rodgers: 31 votes
Watt: 13 votes
Romo: 2 votes
Murray: 2 votes
Brady: 1 votes
Wagner 1 votes

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab