Youth is no detriment to many of this young season's MVP candidates. Myths about rookie quarterbacks that were busted by Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco in 2008 continue to be obliterated by Mark Sanchez, who has led the Jets to a 3-0 start while showing the same poise, intelligence and adaptability that his predecessors became known for.

Ryan and Flacco appear well on their way to bypassing sophomore slumps and are actually much improved in Year Two. At just 24, Adrian Peterson puts on a classic show almost every week. Elvis Dumervil is only 25 and is still getting used to a new position after moving from defensive end to outside linebacker, but he's averaging two sacks per game for the undefeated Broncos.

The league's newest generation of stars isn't waiting its turn. Of the top 10 players on this week's Meter, only three — Drew Brees (30), Peyton Manning (33) and Tom Brady (32) — are above 28 years of age. Half the top 10 is made up of players who are 25 or younger.

The NFL is less than a quarter of the way through its season, and there's plenty of time for inexperience to catch up with these overachieving youngsters. I wouldn't bet on many from this group to break, though.

1. Saints QB Drew Brees — Give the Bills credit. Buffalo lost the game, but it became the first team this season to stop Brees from throwing a touchdown. This wasn't his best day, as he completed 16-of-29 passes for just 172 yards and lost a fumble, but RB Pierre Thomas took over in the second half and the Saints still found a way to remain undefeated. Brees still leads the league in TD passes with nine.

2. Colts QB Peyton Manning — Manning narrowly sits behind Brees at the moment, and these two could put together a compelling back-and-forth for the MVP lead in the final 13 games of the year. He was masterful after a shaky first quarter vs. Arizona, firing three TDs in the second quarter and another in the third.

3. Vikings RB Adrian Peterson — Peterson's yardage and TD numbers have declined with each week, yet there's still no one in the league who has rushed for more yards. Carving out 85 yards on 19 carries against a stout 49ers run defense, as Peterson did on Sunday, is nothing to sneeze at.

4. Giants QB Eli Manning — The Giants spent most of their time running over the Buccaneers with their powerful ground game, but Manning was solid again in Week Three. He threw two TD passes for the second straight week and shouldn't have much trouble doing that again vs. the Chiefs this Sunday.

5. Ravens QB Joe Flacco — He's gone from game manager to game changer. The Ravens still would prefer to run the ball around to the goal line, but Flacco already has six TD passes. He threw for a career-high 342 yards on Sunday against the broken Browns.

6. Chargers QB Philip Rivers — There's only a few quarterbacks who can carry an offense pretty much on their own. Rivers is one of them. Despite very little help from the running game once again, Rivers led the Chargers to a win Sunday vs. Miami while throwing for 303 yards and rushing for a TD.

7. Patriots QB Tom Brady — Brady said he wasn't 100 percent comfortable with where his mechanics were a few days before the Patriots' win vs. the Falcons on Sunday, and he backed up his talk with his play. His accuracy is still not where it once was, but he also wasn't helped much by WRs Joey Galloway and Julian Edelman, who each dropped passes that should have been caught.

8. Falcons QB Matt Ryan — It's not that Ryan had a particularly poor performance vs. New England, which became the first team this season to stop him from throwing a TD. The Patriots' defense did a fine job of cutting off the deep ball, as Ryan's longest completion went for just 26 yards, and the Falcons' offense was only on the field for 20:11 thanks to the running prowess of New England's Fred Taylor. Ryan was all bottled up in the loss.

9. Jets QB Mark Sanchez — Many figured the Titans' defense would be the first to remind everyone that Sanchez still has a long way to go. Guess again. He went 17-for-30 for 171 yards, two TDs (plus one rushing score) and an interception and become the first rookie quarterback since 1970 to start and win his first three games.

10. Broncos OLB Elvis Dumervil — On the heels of his four-sack effort in Week Two, Dumervil sacked JaMarcus Russell twice and had three other tackles in Denver's dominating win over the Raiders. Dumervil has stepped into his new role as a rush linebacker and flourished, which has been key for a Broncos defense that badly needed a push off the edge.

Honorable mention: 49ers ILB Patrick Willis, Packers CB Charles Woodson, Jets CB Darrelle Revis, Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, Titans RB Chris Johnson, Jets RB-RS Leon Washington, Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Colts WR Reggie Wayne, Bengals DE Antwan Odom.