After only two weeks of play, the race for post-season awards has been scrambled a bit. You can blame some of it on injuries.
New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees is out for about six weeks with a thumb injury. Brees was a legitimate candidate for Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year, but he’s not anymore. Brees is perfectly capable of coming back and lighting things up. But missing six games will hurt his overall stats and he won’t be among league leaders in many categories.
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger also was a remote candidate for both of those awards. But he’s out for the rest of the season with an elbow injury. The next award he’ll have a shot at is Comeback Player of the Year in 2020, as long as he doesn’t retire. The awards race also has been shaken up by surprises — players playing better or worse than expected.
Each week, we look at three nominees for Most Valuable Player, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Offensive Rookie of the Year, Defensive Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year. Keep in mind that this is not based strictly on performances each week, although that counts some. But this is an overview of the awards picture, factoring what players and coaches have done so far and looking ahead to the future.
Here is this week’s Awards Watch.
Most Valuable Player
Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens
After a ridiculously good Week 1 performance, I still left Jackson off the list. That was almost entirely because he was playing against Miami and any quarterback should put up big numbers on the lowly Dolphins. But I could no longer ignore Jackson after he threw for 272 and two touchdowns and rushed for 120 yards against Arizona. Yeah, the Cardinals aren’t good either. The guy hasn’t thrown an interception yet. Plus, I also looked at Baltimore’s upcoming schedule and that really improved Jackson’s stock in my eyes. The Ravens play the Kansas City Chiefs this week. That game is likely to be an offensive shootout. After that, the Ravens play the Browns, Steelers and Bengals. That means they won’t start facing good defenses until they play the Seahawks on Oct. 20 and the Patriots on Nov. 2. That means Jackson will be in this race for a while, maybe even for the whole year.
Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY SportsBrady has won MVP three times, so that means he’s going to be on this list every week unless he stumbles badly. And that’s not very likely. Brady threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns against Miami and you have to remember the Patriots took their foot off the gas pedal to keep from humiliating the Dolphins more than they already were. For the season, Brady is completing nearly 70 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
At least in this type of election, it’s difficult to knock off the incumbent and Mahomes won the award last year. He’s only helped his chances so far this season. He’s completed 71.4 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and no interceptions. The only things that could knock Mahomes out of the top spot would be if he stumbles (not likely) or Jackson and Brady continue to put up big numbers and their teams are extremely successful.
Offensive Player of the Year
Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys
At this point, Prescott also has to be considered a candidate for MVP. He’s right in the mix with Lamar Jackson, Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. Prescott has led the Cowboys to two division victories to open the season. He’s completed a ridiculous 82.3 percent of his passes and has thrown for seven touchdowns with only one interception. Right now, his numbers put him up the elite. Now, let’s see when the Cowboys sign him to a contract that validates his elite status.
Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings
It often is difficult for a non-quarterback to win this award. That’s because quarterbacks often win MVP and the next quarterback in line gets this award. But it’s not impossible for a running back to win this award. Right now, Cook looks like the leader among non-quarterbacks. He leads the league with 265 rushing yards. He’s averaging 6.5 yards per carry and has scored three touchdowns.
Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
It’s extremely difficult for a player on a bad team to win major awards. In that situation, the player has to be exceptional. There’s no doubt that the Giants are a bad team. But Barkley is exceptional. He is perhaps the most explosive and versatile offensive player in the league. He’s averaging 7.8 yards a carry and also is a threat as a receiver. Barkley’s number of touches should only increase now that rookie quarterback Daniel Jones has replaced veteran Eli Manning.
Defensive Player of the Year
Shaquil Barrett, LB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Barrett arrived from Denver in the offseason and has been Tampa Bay’s most pleasant surprise. Without the injured Jason Pierre-Paul, it looked like the Bucs wouldn’t have much of a pass rush. But Barrett has stepped up and filled the void nicely with four sacks. Can he sustain that pace? We’ll see. Barrett’s career-high for sacks in a season is 5.5.
Myles Garrett, DE, Cleveland Browns
Garrett put himself on the radar last year when he had 13.5 sacks. He has picked up right where he left off. Garrett leads the league with five sacks. And sacks are the number that people look at most for defensive players.
Aaron Donald, DT, Los Angeles Rams
Donald has two tackles and zero sacks. That’s hardly the kind of production you expect for a candidate for this type of award. But let’s keep in mind who we’re talking about. Donald has won this award the last two seasons. He’s still be a disruptive force this year, despite the lack of numbers. And you have to believe it’s only a matter of time until he explodes and the numbers pile up.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Josh Jacobs, RB, Oakland Raiders
Temper your expectations for Jacobs for this week. He’s dealing with a groin injury and went on social media saying that he’s caused him to lose 10 pounds. So his numbers this week against the Vikings might not be great. But over the long haul, Jacobs will be one of the top rookies in the league. He has claimed the feature backs role for the Raiders and is averaging 5.3 yards per carry.
Daniel Jones, QB, New York Giants
Jones will make the first start of his career against Tampa Bay this week. It may seem to be premature to put him on this list. But this is an exceptional situation. Quarterback is the most visible position in the game and he’s playing in the nation’s biggest market. If he does well at all, he’s going to get lots of attention.
Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals are 0-2 and Murray hasn’t been great. But he’s still the odds-on favorite to win this award. That’s because he’s a quarterback and the No. 1 overall draft pick. All he needs to do his put up decent numbers and Murray has done that. He’s thrown for over 300 yards in each of his first two games. Plus, he’s got a decent shot at his first win this week because the Cardinals play the struggling Carolina Panthers.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Devin Bush, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Bush has been one of the bright spots for the 0-2 Steelers. He’s made 18 tackles. More importantly, he’s still getting used to the defensive system. He should only keep getting better.
Ed Oliver, DT, Buffalo Bills
Oliver still hasn’t had a huge impact on the stat sheet. He has only four tackles and still hasn’t recorded a sack. But he’s been a disruptive force in the middle and the rest of the Buffalo defense is feeling the impact of his presence.
Nick Bosa, DE, 49ers
Bosa didn’t produce a tackle or a sack in a victory over Cincinnati. But he was limited to 31 snaps because of an ankle sprain. But coach Kyle Shanahan said Bosa appears to be healthy now and his presence should be felt against the Steelers, who will have quarterback Mason Rudolph making his first career start.
Coach of the Year
Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills
Nobody expected much from Buffalo. It’s still very early. But, so far, the Bills have exceeded all expectations. They’re playing respectably on offense and defense. Are they good enough to challenge the Patriots in the AFC East? No. But McDermott has his team trending in a positive direction.
John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens
Entering the season, there was some talk about Harbaugh being on the hot seat. Forget all that. The Ravens are 2-0 and playing like one of the league’s best team. Harbaugh and the front office decided to part ways with veteran quarterback Joe Flacco and put all their faith in Lamar Jackson. That turned out to be a wise move. Jackson is playing as well as anyone and he looks like he might be able to take this team a long way.
Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers were 10-22 in Shanahan’s first two seasons and the coach was on a very hot seat. It’s too early to say his job is completely safe. But the 49ers are trending in a good direction. They’re 2-0 and Shanahan’s offense is finally clicking.
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.
