Week 4 of the NFL was full of surprises when it came to the players and coaches chasing the top league-wide honors. Some of the hottest names in the league suddenly cooled off. And some new names emerged.
There are a lot of changes in this week’s Awards Watch. Let’s take a look.
Most Valuable Player
Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
Some observers are calling Brady a “game manager’’ after he threw for just 150 yards and no touchdowns in a 16-10 win against Buffalo. That’s unfair. Buffalo is much better than a lot of people realize. Plus, this was just one game. In Week 3 against the Jets, Brady threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns. So, it’s not like he’s suddenly falling apart. He did what he had to do to keep his team undefeated. As long as the Patriots are winning, Brady stays in the conversation for MVP. He hasn’t lost anything. For the season, he has seven touchdown passes against just one interception.
Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings
Cook’s candidacy for MVP and Offensive Player of the Year took a big hit in a 16-6 loss to Chicago. He was held to 35 yards on 14 carries. But don’t blame that entirely on Cook. Blame it on quarterback Kirk Cousins, because everyone, including other Vikings, is blaming Cousins – as they should. Cousins has been nothing short of terrible, and defenses aren’t even worrying about him. They’re focusing all their energy on Cook, and that’s going to become even more pronounced. For now, Cook remains on the list because he’s second in the league with 410 rushing yards. But Cousins could end up costing Cook a shot at any awards and the Vikings a shot at the playoffs.
Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
Mahomes had his worst game of the season, but the Chiefs still defeated Detroit. He didn’t throw a touchdown pass (for only the fourth game in his career) and completed just 57.1 percent of his passes. He did pass for 315 yards and ran six times for 54 yards. Most importantly of all, Mahomes led the Chiefs on a game-winning drive to keep the Chiefs undefeated. Mahomes, who won this award last year, remains the favorite to do it again. On the season, he has thrown for 1,510 yards and 10 touchdowns without an interception.
Offensive Player of the Year
Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers
McCaffrey jumped into the league lead in rushing yards (411) on Sunday when he ran for 93 yards against Houston. With franchise quarterback Cam Newton injured, McCaffrey has carried the Panthers to two straight victories and is the most versatile running back in the league. In addition to his running, McCaffrey also is a legitimate threat as a receiver. He had 10 catches for 86 yards against Houston and has 25 catches for 218 yards on the season.
Leonard Fournette, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
With a 225-yard rushing explosion in a victory against Denver, Fournette put himself on this list for the first time. Against Denver, he averaged 7.8 yards per carry. He now has 404 rushing yards on 72 carries for the season. He also is a threat has a receiver. He has 16 catches for 114 yards. The only thing Fournette hasn’t done yet this season is score a touchdown.
Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys
Prescott was on the MVP short list last week. But things have changed, at least for the moment. That’s because Prescott was underwhelming in a 12-10 loss to New Orleans. He threw for 223 yards, an interception and was held without a touchdown pass for the first time this season as the Cowboys lost for the first time. But Prescott still is having a strong year. He has thrown for 1,143 yards and nine touchdowns.
Defensive Player of the Year
Aaron Donald, DT, Los Angeles Rams
It’s to the point where keeping Donald on this list is something of a stretch. He has only 10 tackles and one sack on the season. The only reason Donald is staying on this list is that he’s been one of the most dominant defensive players of his era and has won this award each of the past two seasons. He’s overdue for an explosion. If it doesn’t happen soon, Donald’s going to drop off this list.
Devin McCourty, S, New England Patriots
The Patriots veteran wasn’t even in consideration for this list at the start of the season. But he’s now a very real contender. McCourty is off to the hottest start of his career. He has recorded an interception in each of the first four games. The only time he had more interceptions in a season was 2012, when he had five. Plus, the fact McCourty plays for one of the best teams in the league only helps his case.
Shaquil Barrett, LB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Yes, a Tampa Bay player is in the conversation for a league-wide honor. In fact, Barrett is more than just in the conversation. If the season ended today, Barrett would win this award easily. That’s because he’s off to one of the most dominant defensive starts in recent memory. Through four games, Barrett has nine sacks (that’s more than nine teams have), three forced fumbles and an interception. In Sunday’s road upset of the Los Angeles Rams, Barrett had a huge game, registering a sack, an interception and forcing a fumble that teammate Ndamukong Suh returned for a touchdown. Barrett was only a role player in his first five seasons with Denver. That’s why the Bucs were able to get him with a one-year, $4 million contract. There already is talk that the Bucs will sign Barrett to an extension soon. They better hurry because he seems to drive the price tag up each week.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
A.J. Brown, WR, Tennessee Titans
After racking up 100 receiving yards in the season opener, Brown was quiet in Weeks 2 and 3. But he exploded in Week 4. Against Atlanta, Brown had 94 receiving yards and two touchdowns. That could prompt the coaching staff and quarterback Marcus Mariota to make sure more passes start going Brown’s direction.
Daniel Jones, QB, New York Giants
Jones wasn’t quite as prolific in the Week 4 win against Washington as he was in his first start against Tampa Bay. But he was more than efficient enough as the Giants won their second straight game. Against the Redskins, Jones completed 74.2 percent of his passes for 225 yards and a touchdown. More importantly, he has the Giants winning without their best player, Saquon Barkley, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury. Jones also validated the fact the Giants made the right call in drafting him – and not Dwayne Haskins – No. 6 overall. Haskins made his debut for Washington and threw three interceptions.
Gardner Minshew, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars
The most surprising rookie of all, a sixth-round pick filling in for the injured Nick Foles, has led the Jaguars to two straight wins. In Week 4, he threw for two touchdowns in a victory against Denver. On the season, Minshew has seven touchdown passes and only one interception. He’s already built a cult following in Jacksonville. With a couple more wins, he’s going to make it difficult for the coaching staff to decide what to do when Foles is healthy. But that would be a nice problem to have.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Chase Winovich, DE, New England Patriots
Winovich has recorded three sacks in the past three games. He already has shown he can rush the passer. But he needs to improve his overall game, because he has only five tackles on the season.
Nick Bosa, DE, San Francisco 49ers
Bosa has recorded only one sack through three games, but he’s made his presence felt by getting consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks. He may not have been at 100 percent in the first three games as he recovered from an ankle injury in the preseason. But last week’s bye should help Bosa, and he could emerge as more of a force going forward.
Devin Bush, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Bush moved into the lead for this award with an outstanding performance in a Monday night victory against Cincinnati. He made nine tackles, including three for a loss. He also recorded a sack and a pass defensed. Bush has been consistent all season and has 37 tackles in four games.
Coach of the Year
Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs had to eke out a win against Detroit on a day when quarterback Patrick Mahomes didn’t have a great outing. But Mahomes is going to be great most of the time. The Chiefs are 4-0 and lead the Raiders and Chargers by two games in the AFC West. Kansas City is going to win a lot of games. But the question with Reid will always be whether or not he can win in the playoffs.
Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers had a bye in Week 4, so they’re still undefeated at 3-0. Shanahan’s offensive scheme finally has taken hold after two rough years. The 49ers have a very real chance to get to 4-0 when they host the Cleveland Browns on Monday night.
Matt Nagy, Chicago Bears
The Bears are 3-1 and tied with Green Bay for the NFC North lead. Nagy and his staff are coming off an impressive performance in a 16-6 win against Minnesota. They did it by shutting down Dalvin Cook, who entered the game as the league’s leading rusher, and challenging Kirk Cousins to beat them. Cousins didn’t come close to rising to the occasion. Just as impressively, Nagy and the Bears were able to get a win even though starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky left the game with an injury and will miss this week’s game. Backup Chase Daniel stepped in and played efficiently. The Bears actually may be better off with Daniel playing, because Trubisky struggled prior to the injury.
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.
