The Associated Press

Oakland Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon can add another honor to his record-setting season: NFL Most Valuable Player.

Gannon received 19 votes to edge Green Bay's Brett Favre on Wednesday, a satisfying achievement for a player who wasn't wanted out of college, spent much of his 15-year career as a journeyman and sat out one season.

Favre, the only three-time winner of the award, got 15 votes from the nationwide panel of 48 sports writers and broadcasters.

Gannon established an NFL mark this season for completions (418) and connected on 21 consecutive passes in a victory over the Denver Broncos that ended a four-game losing streak and started a five-game winning string.

Gannon led the NFL with 4,689 yards passing, helping the Raiders top the AFC West at 11-5 and earn home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

"What I achieved is what the football team has achieved," Gannon said. "Without all the skill people like Tim Brown and Jerry Rice and Charlie Garner and the tight ends and the other wide receivers and runners and the line, and the coaching staff, I would never be in the position to make those plays."

His modesty notwithstanding, the 37-year-old Gannon made as many plays as any NFL player in 2002. He completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. His 97.3 rating was second in the NFL to that of the New York Jets' Chad Pennington, and his 10 300-yard passing games this season set an NFL record.

And he is now the MVP, something few would have predicted when the Raiders lost four straight games in October.

"A lot of people wrote us off, but we continued to believe in ourselves," he said.

Gannon never lost faith in his abilities, even though he was traded by the New England Patriots just two weeks after they drafted him out of Delaware in the fourth round. He went on to play for Minnesota (1987-92), Washington ('93), sat out the 1994 season, then became an effective starter in Kansas City from 1995-98.

He left the Chiefs as a free agent in 1999, and he's been a sensation in Oakland, where the Raiders had the top-ranked offense this season.

"I think he has a dimension that I haven't seen a quarterback take," coach Bill Callahan said. "Here's a guy who won more games at the quarterback position in the regular season than anybody in the league (in the last three years). He's a player that we ask a tremendous amount from. You've seen him improve on a year-to-year basis, this year being his finest year as a pro."

Good enough to beat Favre, who guided the Packers to the NFC North championship and a 12-4 record. The Packers were the first team to clinch a playoff spot this year.

"You don't really beat somebody out," Gannon said. "It's not a competition between one candidate and another. He's had a great year, too, and I know Brett, and I am sure he is focused on the same thing as we are: winning a championship."

Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair finished third with 11 votes. He battled injuries all season, even going several weeks without practicing, then playing on the weekend. Next were Kansas City Chiefs running back Priest Holmes, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks, each with one vote.

Favre thought his 16-of-33, 172-yard passing performance in last weekend's 42-17 loss to the Jets hurt his chances.

"I mean, it wasn't upsetting. Gannon was deserving of it," Favre said. "McNair was deserving of it. If I'd have won it, fine, great. But it ain't the end of the world."

EAGLES: Quarterback Donovan McNabb will get a chance today to show he's ready to return from a broken right ankle that forced him to miss Philadelphia's last six games.

"If he can move around and feels comfortable with it, then he can step in there and go, but we're going to keep a close eye on him," Eagles coach Andy Reid said.

FALCONS: Fullback Bob Christian will be sidelined for the playoffs after suffering his second concussion in two months. He was injured in a Dec. 22 victory over the Detroit Lions.

Atlanta signed rookie defensive tackle Ryan Watson off the practice squad.

George Layne started in Christian's place in Sunday's loss to the Cleveland Browns.

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