Hello one and all — Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. As the NFL season kicks into high gear with the playoffs right around the corner, lots of MVP talk and some award updates.
MVP rankings:
Aaron Rodgers
Patrick Mahomes
Jonathan Taylor
Josh Allen
Justin Herbert
Aaron Rodgers keeps his top spot for another week.
Rodgers tossed three scores against zero turnovers in the win over Baltimore. Even though the Ravens pushed for a late comeback, they went for two and didn’t convert. Why would they do such a thing? Because giving the ball to Aaron Rodgers in overtime is not a fun concept.
Patrick Mahomes also keeps his spot after a stellar overtime duel with No. 5 candidate Justin Herbert.
Mahomes threw for over 400 yards and three TDs in the overtime win, leading the game-winning drive capped by an absurd touchdown from Travis Kelce. The Chiefs are peaking at the right time and Mahomes is playing his best football of the season. If he keeps it up, the Chiefs should be back in the Super Bowl mix.
As for Herbert, he stays on the list after Brady’s shocking collapse against New Orleans. And, to give Herbert credit, he went blow-for-blow with Mahomes until OT. The Charger signal-caller is young and the team around him still needs some improvement, but Herbert gives them a chance to win any game.
Jonathan Taylor is that dude.
A week after Bill Belichick forgot the forward pass existed, Frank Reich decided that was a good idea, and ran the same scheme against Belichick.
It worked.
Taylor carried the ball 29 times for a whopping 170 yards and one TD, capped off by his 67-yard touchdown run to ice the game. The Colts went from afterthought to the thick of the playoff race and Taylor is the main reason why. He has an uphill battle, but he could be the first non-QB to win MVP since Adrian Peterson.
Josh Allen comes in at No. 4 after an up-and-down win against the Panthers.
The Bills looked rough in the first quarter, before Allen and the offense kicked into high gear to score 17 before halftime. He threw for just 210 yards but tossed three TDs, as well. The fact that he didn’t have to do everything himself is a boon for the Bills. A working running game and improving defense makes Buffalo all the stronger come playoff time.
NFL awards:
Offensive Player of the Year (OPOY): Jonathan Taylor, Cooper Kupp, Deebo Samuel
Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY): T.J. Watt, Darius Leonard, Myles Garrett, J.C. Jackson
Offensive Rookie of the Year (OROY): Rashawn Slater, Mac Jones, Ja’Marr Chase
Defensive Rookie Of the Year (DROY): Micah Parsons, Patrick Surtain II, Nick Bolton
Coach Of the Year (COY): Kyle Shanahan, Bill Belichick, Kliff Kingsbury, Frank Reich
Comeback Player Of the Year (CPOY): Dak Prescott
Jonathan Taylor is my runaway pick for OPOY.
He faces an extremely difficult task when it comes to winning the MVP race, especially because so many QBs are having great seasons. But his numbers, in comparison to other running backs, are mind-blowing.
Taylor leads the NFL with 1,518 rushing yards in 14 games.
Joe Mixon is second in the league with 1,094. That’s over a 400 yard difference.
There are only three backs in the NFL outside of Taylor who have over 1,000 yards on the ground. Not to mention he has 17 rushing TDs, also first in the NFL.
If anyone can challenge Taylor, it’s Cooper Kupp.
Kupp just had another big game against the Seahawks and, similar to Taylor, leads the NFL in receiving by a wide margin.
He has 1,625 yards so far. Tyreek Hill is second in the NFL with 1,178. And Kupp missed some games.
His route-running, hands and mental-sync with Matthew Stafford are truly special. The only question will be if he can break Calvin Johnson’s all-time record and hit 2,000 receiving yards in a single season. It won’t be the same, what with the NFL schedule expanding from 16 games to 17 this year, but it still would be special.
Darius Leonard jumps back into the DPOY hunt after the Colts manhandled the Pats all night long. Leonard is one of the best defenders in the league and gets forgotten far too often. He has 107 tackles, three interceptions and is second in the league with six forced fumbles on the season.
Kyle Shanahan jumps Belichick on the COY list and Frank Reich joins it for the first time.
Reich has steadied the ship and the Colts are playoff contenders because of a steady offense and dominant defense. The same could be said for Shanahan, who has once again made Jimmy Garappolo look like a franchise QB while putting the 49ers firmly back in the playoff picture.
