Entering the final week of the NFL season, we have a new leader in our CBS Sports MVP ballot.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been in the lead over the past couple weeks, but heading into Week 17, he has been overtaken by Falcons passer Matt Ryan, who has been surging up the ballot. Ezekiel Elliott maintains his spot in third place, and he's now the only rookie on the list.

Derek Carr, who had been a contender all season, did not receive a single vote this week -- the first time that's been true on any of our ballots. David Johnson, who had been seeing a groundswell of support lately, also fell off the ballot entirely. Their votes were sopped up by Aaron Rodgers (now in fourth place) and Le'Veon Bell.

There's still one more week left to sort things out, but that's where we stand right on the ballots below.

First, here's our collective MVP ballot:

2016 MVP vote heading into Week 17

Matt Ryan has taken over first place.

  1. Matt Ryan -- 22
  2. Tom Brady -- 20
  3. Ezekiel Elliott -- 13
  4. Aaron Rodgers -- 11
  5. Le'Veon Bell -- 9

For the first time, all five voters voted for the same five players, but not necessarily in the same order. Ryan and Brady were the only players to receive first-place votes, with Ryan nabbing first overall by virtue of having an extra vote in the top spot.

OK, onto the individual choices ...

Jared Dubin's top 5

  1. Ryan
  2. Elliott
  3. Brady
  4. Bell
  5. Rodgers

I had a big shakeup, as I've finally come around to the opinion that Ryan's been the NFL's best quarterback this season and deserves the top spot. He edges Brady in completion percentage, yards per attempt, passer rating, QBR and DVOA. He's performed better against common opponents. And he's leading one of the best offenses in the league history.

Zeke has been the best player on the best team, but he's just short of the kind of transcendent season a running back needs to overtake the NFL's best passer as MVP. If Brady had done what he's done over a full season rather than four games short of one, he might be in the top spot. The suspension probably wasn't warranted, but it still happened. The same is true of Bell.

Rodgers might be higher on the list if he didn't contribute to Green Bay's slow start. He's not higher on the list for the same basic reason I didn't have Derek Carr at the top earlier in the season, when others cited his fourth-quarter comebacks as the reason he should be leading.

Sean Wagner-McGough's top 5

  1. Ryan
  2. Brady
  3. Bell
  4. Elliott
  5. Rodgers

Ryan is my MVP. He's been the best quarterback in the league throughout the entire season, his team is 10-5 despite its 25th-ranked defense (in points allowed), and he leads Brady in the following categories:

  • Completion percentage
  • Yards per attempt
  • Touchdown percentage
  • Passer rating

None of those statistics are skewed in Ryan's favor because of Brady's dumb four-game suspension. So, the choice is easy: I'm going with the NFL's best quarterback, one who overcame one of the league's worst defenses to lead his team to a division title.

Ryan Wilson's top 5

  1. Brady
  2. Ryan
  3. Rodgers
  4. Bell
  5. Elliott

Brady has 3,278 yards, 25 touchdowns and only two interceptions in 11 games, and looks nothing like a 17-year veteran who's 39 years old. Ryan, meanwhile, has 4,336 passing yards, 34 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 15 games to go along with a 115.5 passer rating. And if you're into the whole advanced stats thing, Brady is No. 3 in value per play among passers, according to Football Outsiders' metrics, and Ryan is No. 1. And according to Pro Football Focus, Brady grades out as the league's best quarterback, while Ryan is second.

This is the first week Ezekiel Elliott cracks my top five. This isn't a knock on him or his accomplishments as a rookie, but an acknowledgement that he has a fantastic supporting cast that includes an all-world offensive line, Dez Bryant, Jason Witten and the other rookie in the Cowboys' backfield, quarterback Dak Prescott. Still, Elliott has been consistently great and it's hard to overlook his 1,631 rushing yards, 5.1 YPC average, or his 15 touchdowns.

John Breech's top 5

  1. Brady
  2. Elliott
  3. Ryan
  4. Rodgers
  5. Bell

My ballot should really be listed as 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D because I feel that Brady, Elliott, Ryan and Rodgers are all neck-and-neck for MVP.

Rodgers has single-handedly turned the Packers around after a 4-6 start, and he capped that turnaround with a ridiculous five-touchdown game against the Vikings (Four passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown). Although I'm leaning Brady for my final ballot next week, I could talk myself into Rodgers or Elliott. If the Packers win the NFC North, it will be because of Rodgers.

As for Elliott, if he breaks Eric Dickerson's 33-year-old rushing record while playing for the best team in football, I think you have to give him serious consideration. Finally, I love Matt Ryan, but not enough to move him to No. 1. Unless Ryan throws six touchdown passes in Week 17 against New Orleans, I don't see a result that would end with me moving him up to No. 1.

Will Brinson's top 5

  1. Ryan
  2. Rodgers
  3. Brady
  4. Elliott
  5. Bell

This year is shaping up to feature a major recency bias in the MVP race. It's easy to think about handing the hardware over to Aaron Rodgers if the Packers win the NFC North -- he carried them all season and turned a pretty good season into an exceptional one as the weather got colder. Green Bay was 4-6 when he called his shot about running the table.

And yet, Matt Ryan will be totally hosed if he doesn't get the award. He's been the NFL's best player most of the season and the Falcons haven't faltered even when his weapons went down. Tom Brady over a full season might be a runaway winner and Zeke deserves love even though much of his production is a result of the offensive line. He's been tremendous. Bell has been a force since returning from suspension.