It’s time for our weekly check on the races for the NFL’s major awards. As always, we factor in the most recent results. But this is a cumulative watch, where we consider what has happened so far this season and also look ahead to what might happen the rest of the year.
This week, Devin Bush, Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray rank among the fastest risers. Here’s a look at our weekly Awards Watch.
Most Valuable Player
Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
Mahomes was the leader in this category for the first four weeks of the season, but he’s dipped a bit recently. That’s mainly because the Chiefs have lost their past two games. But it’s also because Mahomes’ completion percentage has dropped each week since Week 3. In Sunday’s loss to Houston, he completed a season-low 54.3 percent of his passes. He did throw for three touchdowns, but that wasn’t enough and he also threw his first interception of the season. With 14 touchdown passes and a league-high 2,104 passing yards, Mahomes still is an MVP candidate, but the Chiefs need to get back to winning.
Deshaun Watson, QB, Houston Texans
Watson skyrocketed up the board this week because he had perhaps the biggest win of his career. He’s forever linked to Mahomes because Kansas City selected Mahomes two spots ahead of where the Texans took Watson in the 2017 draft. Sunday was their first head-to-head NFL meeting, and Watson emerged as the winner. He completed 71.4 percent of his passes for 280 yards and a touchdown. But Watson is much more than a passer. He also ran for two touchdowns. On the season, Watson’s numbers are right up there with other MVP candidates. He’s thrown for 1,644 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also has five rushing touchdowns.
Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks
Wilson made his debut on our MVP list last week as the No. 3 candidate. This week, he’s No. 1. Wilson has risen because he’s been the most consistently excellent player in the league. He’s yet to have a bad game, and the Seahawks are 5-1. With Wilson, it’s difficult to see Seattle suddenly hitting a slump. The Seahawks are destined for double-digit wins, and that only helps Wilson’s candidacy. He had one of his typically strong games Sunday against Cleveland, completing 69.7 percent of his passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns, and he also ran for a touchdown. On the season, he’s thrown for 1,704 yards and 14 touchdowns. He still hasn’t thrown an interception and has a 124.7 passer rating. That’s as close to perfect as you’ll find.
Offensive Player of the Year
Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints
By his standards, Thomas didn’t have huge numbers in Sunday’s win at Jacksonville. He didn’t crack 100 receiving yards and didn’t score a touchdown. But he still played a big role in New Orleans’ moving to 5-1 with eight catches for 89 yards. There’s a common belief that New Orleans receivers are products of the system and Drew Brees makes them better than they really are. That’s true in a lot of cases. But with Brees injured, Thomas has shown he’s an exception. He’s outstanding with or without Brees.
Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
Brady frequently is taken for granted because of what he’s done in the past. But at 42, Brady is still doing what he did in the past. In a win against the Giants, he completed 75.6 percent of his passes for 334 yards. That’s just another day at the office for Brady, who once again is a candidate for this award and Most Valuable Player.
Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers
Although McCaffrey was held to 31 yards on 22 carries, he still was dominant in Sunday’s victory against Tampa Bay as he scored a rushing touchdown and receiving touchdown and kept the defense’s attention off young quarterback Kyle Allen. McCaffrey leads the league with 618 rushing yards and also has run for seven touchdowns. But McCaffrey is much more than a runner. He’s caught 35 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensive Player of the Year
Devin McCourty, S, New England Patriots
McCourty almost fell off the list this week because he’s been relatively quiet recently. It’s not that he’s playing poorly. It’s just that he set the bar so high by recording an interception in each of the first four games. He hasn’t had one since. But he stays on the list because he still leads the league with four interceptions.
Shaquil Barrett, LB, Tampa Bay
Barrett has gone silent recently, and it’s no coincidence the Bucs have lost their past two games. But Barrett was dominant through the first four games. He remains tied for the league lead with nine sacks. If he’s going to win this award, he’s got to get back to piling up sacks.
Devin Bush, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Bush previously had been mentioned as a candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Suddenly, he’s moved into the lead for Defensive Player of the Year. Why? He’s been good all year, but he carried his team to victory Sunday against the Chargers. Bush scooped up and errant lateral from Philip Rivers to Melvin Gordon and returned it for a touchdown. He followed that up with an interception to set up Pittsburgh’s second touchdown. Bush basically gave the Steelers a 14-0 lead and took the pressure off rookie quarterback Devlin Hodges.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Daniel Jones, QB, New York Giants
Jones clearly has taken a big step back the past two games. The Giants have lost two in a row after Jones was impressive in his first two starts, both New York wins. Jones had his worst game yet in a Week 6 loss to New England. He completed just 48.4 percent of his passes for 161 yards and was intercepted three times. But, when running back Saquon Barkley is fully healthy, he’ll take some pressure off Jones.
Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Redskins
The third-round pick has been one of the few bright spots for the Redskins, and he had another big game as Washington got its first win of the season at Miami. McLaurin had four catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns. For the season, he has 23 catches for 408 yards and five touchdowns.
Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals
Murray moves back into the lead for this award after the Cardinals defeated Atlanta to win their second consecutive game. Murray had his best overall game of the season, completing 73 percent of his passes for 340 yards and three touchdowns. Murray hasn’t thrown an interception in the past two games and has shown steady improvement even though he’s playing for a team with a losing record.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Brian Burns, EDGE, Carolina Panthers
Burns has been a huge factor in Carolina’s four-game winning streak. He has 3.5 sacks in that span. He added another sack Sunday against Tampa Bay and pressured Jameis Winston several other times. On the season, Burns has 4.5 sacks.
Nick Bosa, DE, San Francisco 49ers
Bosa’s stat line wasn’t anything special in a win against the Rams. He had only one tackle. But his presence was obvious in a statement game that showed San Francisco’s defense is for real. Bosa helped the Rams pressure Jared Goff into four sacks and held him to 78 yards passing. Bosa has three sacks on the season, but could produce a multi-sack game at any point.
Devin Bush, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers
A linebacker seldom carries his team to a victory. It’s even more rare when that linebacker is a rookie. But Bush actually did carry his team to a win against the Chargers. He essentially gave the Steelers a 14-0 lead to make life easy for quarterback Devlin Hodges, who was making his first career start. Bush returned a fumble for a touchdown early in the game. He followed that with an interception that set up Pittsburgh’s second touchdown. Bush isn’t just playing like a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate. He’s having an All-Pro season.
Coach of the Year
Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers
The Packers enjoyed a one-point victory against Detroit on Monday night. But this isn’t about style points. It’s about wins, and the Packers are 5-1 under their first-year coach. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is playing like he used to and is happy, something he wasn’t with former coach Mike McCarthy.
Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints
Payton has been a great coach since arriving in New Orleans in 2006. But he’s doing his best coaching job ever this year. Even with Drew Brees out with a thumb injury, the Saints are 5-1. More importantly, Payton has the best overall defense of his tenure. When Brees comes back, pair him with that defense and Payton could have the best team he’s ever had.
Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers
Shanahan had perhaps the biggest win of his career Sunday against the Rams. The San Francisco defense shut down quarterback Jared Goff and held the Rams to seven points. From his background as an offensive coordinator, we knew Shanahan could build a good product on that side of the ball. But Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have also assembled a strong defense. That’s why the 49ers are 5-0.
Pat Yasinskas has covered the NFL since 1993. He has worked for The Tampa Tribune, The Charlotte Observer and ESPN.com and writes for numerous national magazines and websites. He also has served as a voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
