We’re two-thirds of the way through the NFL season, with the playoff picture heating up. Here’s what we have heading into Week 13 …
Jaxon Smith-Njigba
It’d be challenging to give a receiver the NFL’s MVP award.
The AP has bestowed that honor for the past 68 years, and quarterbacks win it most seasons. A bunch of running backs have won it. A defensive tackle (Alan Page, 1971) once did, and a linebacker (Lawrence Taylor, ’86), too. Even a kicker snuck in there (Mark Moseley, ’82), albeit in a strike-shortened season. But never a wideout, partly because they simply don’t affect every play quite enough to be worthy of the award.
So I’m definitely not going to advocate for Jaxon Smith-Njigba to win it this year, not over players such as Matthew Stafford or Drake Maye. But if this award were Most Outstanding Player rather than Most Valuable? Then, the Seahawks’ third-year star would have a real case.
Through 11 games, Smith-Njigba has 80 catches for 1,313 yards (259 yards more than any other player in football) and seven touchdowns, which puts the 2023 first-round pick on pace for 124 catches, 2,029 yards and 13 scores. That would make him the first 2,000-yard receiver in NFL history. And what makes his stat sheet even more impressive is how consequential so many of those yards have been for a team in the thick of contention.
Sunday’s breezy win in Nashville wasn’t the most significant victory, but the matchup did showcase the detail with which Smith-Njigba is playing early in his NFL career. And the best illustration of it came on his biggest play.
Early in the second quarter, Smith-Njigba blew past Titans safety Amani Hooker for a 63-yard score on a corner route, hauling in a dime from Sam Darnold way downfield and fighting past Hooker into the clear for the touchdown. On its face, there didn’t seem to be a whole lot to the route Smith-Njigba ran. But there was more to it than was initially evident, showing the receiver’s football IQ and his rapport with his quarterback.
“It was a deep corner route. The DB was really sitting where I was supposed to break out at,” Smith-Njigba told me. “I saw him flat-footed, so I decided to take the top off. Sam [Darnold] stuck with me, and continued to give me a shot down the field. I appreciate him still sticking with it.”
In that moment, Smith-Njigba scrapped the initial idea of the call to cross Hooker’s face, didn’t throw a double move, and instead caught Hooker flat-footed outside and got deep outside for the big play, trusting in the unspoken communication between him and Darnold.
Sure enough, Darnold got the ball where it needed to be and it dropped right in, even after a really good recovery by Hooker. That play epitomizes the kind of year it’s been for Smith-Njigba with a new quarterback and coordinator.
With Darnold, Smith-Njigba says, it’s really been about the work the two put in together.
“Just a bunch of reps, and honestly the open line of communication started early,” Smith-Njigba said. “When we didn’t connect on a play, Sam always took the lead and said, Hey, I can get better here. That just motivates me to elevate my game because he’s always on a continuous track to elevate his game. He’s a really smart player, understands, Hey, I can be better here. So he says all the right things a receiver will want to hear from his QB, and I just want to back him up and be there for him. That connection started months ago.”
And with new OC Klint Kubiak, the fit has been just as solid. Remember, this is Smith-Njigba’s third coordinator in as many years as a pro. So his adaptability is proven.
“This is an offense that goes way back, just playing old school football,” Smith-Njigba said. “For defenses to respect all parts of the field, it leaves me one-on-one, whether that’s with the corner or the safety. I would say them knowing my skill set and just building around that, just giving me more opportunities, the more opportunities I get, the more I make plays. Klint’s been very proactive in wanting to get me the ball and proactive in creating new ways to get me the ball.
“It’s just about doing my job, catching the ball, getting upfield and getting what I can. And like I said, opportunities. I would say Klint has a big part in it.”
And, as a result, Smith-Njigba’s been incredibly valuable to the Seahawks’ 8–3 start. Most valuable? Maybe not. But he’s doing his job as well as anyone in the NFL is doing theirs.
Green Bay Packers
I’ve noticed a trend this year, with teams like the Eagles, Broncos and Packers. The perception that they’re “struggling” centers solely on one side of the ball. How the sport is viewed and digested in 2025 is different than in years’ past. Often, how well-regarded a team is relates directly to how aesthetically pleasing its game is, through a modern lens.
So I figured this would be a good opportunity to appreciate someone’s defense, for once.
Jeff Hafley’s crew in Green Bay is absolutely balling out. The Packers are fourth in the NFL in total defense, second in yards allowed per pass play and yards allowed per pass attempt, fifth in scoring defense and sixth in run defense. They’ve held eight of their 11 opponents to 20 points or less, with the 40–40 tie with Dallas serving as the only real blip.
And as of late, their one former Achilles heel seems to be improving, with the Packers now starting to take the ball away, too. They generated at least one takeaway in six consecutive games, with five takeaways in their past two games, to move into the top 10 in the league in turnover margin.
In sum, they’re not getting run or thrown on much, nor are teams mounting yards or points, and now the playmaking resulting from opponents’ frustrations is starting to show.
Now, here’s why the unit’s step forward is sustainable. A big piece of the growth is that Micah Parsons has gotten more comfortable in the Packers’ scheme, and the coaches have found the best way to use him. In time, they’ve done their best to keep him clean of chips by moving him around, standing him up and generally keeping the offense from getting a bead on what his rush plan is.
Green Bay’s lined him up as a 5-technique (over the tackle) and a 9-technique (on the edge), and, going against the rap on him in Dallas, he’s actually been stout against the run, setting edges and getting off blocks. He’s also proved to be a student of the game, with one-on-one meetings every week with Hafley to go over the opponent’s pass-protection scheme.
Other things have fallen into place around Parsons, too. The team is strong up the middle with mainstays Xavier McKinney at safety and Edgerrin Cooper at linebacker barely ever coming off the field. Rashan Gary has 7.5 sacks to Parsons’s 10, and Lukas Van Ness should be back soon (he tried to return for the Viking game, and will try again after Thanksgiving). Meanwhile, after trading away Kenny Clark, the team is getting improved play out of rotational DTs Colby Wooden, Karl Brooks, Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse, with Devonte Wyatt back in the mix.
The upshot is that while the offense has worked through the losses of Tucker Kraft (who is out for the season with a torn ACL) and Josh Jacobs (who is out with a knee injury), and a bit of a revolving door at receiver, the defense has bought Jordan Love & Co. time to work things out. Which, in an ideal world, will result in the offense ascending through December, and the team being a very tough out come January, regardless of what you might’ve heard.
J.J. McCarthy
On the flip side, Sunday’s game felt like a flashpoint for Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy.
He finished with 12-of-19 for 87 yards, two picks and a 34.2 passer rating in Green Bay. Minnesota’s only points came on field goals of 52 and 59 yards, after scoring drives of just 31 and 32 yards. The Minnesota offense got in the red zone once all afternoon, and didn’t cross midfield in the second half. The Vikings’ five possessions after the break ended in a punt, another punt, a third punt and then McCarthy’s two picks.
The offense had all five line starters back in the lineup, and the typical all-star array of skill-position talent. And for an indoor team, it wasn’t even that cold in Green Bay on Sunday (43 degrees).
The Packers’ game plan was to continually change the picture on McCarthy, to get the wheels in his head turning. As a result, the quarterback was consistently late with his timing and out of rhythm. So he held the ball, leading to a ton of hits, with the damage accumulating.
What’s next, for McCarthy and the Viking? It’s a fair question, and one without an easy answer.
With McCarthy in concussion protocol, the Vikings could avoid what would be an awfully tricky spot for the 22-year-old: McCarthy in Seattle, against a defensive coach (Mike Macdonald) who throws a lot at any quarterback and was at Michigan with McCarthy, playing against the quarterback he replaced (Sam Darnold) in Minnesota. But if Max Brosmer, whom the coaches really like, plays well, then this could get even more complicated.
That said, I’d trust Kevin O’Connell to do right by his quarterback here, and he’s said, over and over, how important it is to prioritize the confidence of a player at that position. Maybe he sees McCarthy’s confidence waning, and sticks with Brosmer for a while. Maybe he thinks the best thing to restore McCarthy’s confidence is to get him back on the field ASAP.
Either way, this certainly isn’t where the Vikings envisioned themselves 19 months ago when they traded up a spot and took McCarthy 10th in the 2024 draft.
But McCarthy is only 22 years old and in his second NFL season. If the past few years have shown us anything, it’s that teams have to be careful about giving up on a talented young quarterback too quickly. I don’t think the Vikings are going to do that yet. I also wouldn’t expect them to go forward without reinforcements if this doesn’t resolve itself by the end of the year.
Christian McCaffrey
Christian McCaffrey’s durability is, well, ridiculous.
After Monday night’s 31-touch, 142-yard effort, the 49ers’ workhorse now leads the NFL in carries (217) and catches (81)—which is impressive in a vacuum, but even more so when you consider McCaffrey’s football odometer.
If you want to count it up, we can. McCaffrey had 382 touches as a Stanford sophomore and 290 as a junior (he skipped his bowl game that year). In five fully healthy NFL seasons, he’s had 197 (as a rookie), 326, 403, 329 and 339 touches. In his other three years as a pro, he sustained major injuries, while carrying that sort of load, which only makes the burden he’s carrying this year, at 29 and in his ninth year, more remarkable.
And if you want to return to the nonquarterback value argument—with all due respect to Smith-Njigba and Jonathan Taylor—I’m not sure anyone has an MVP case like McCaffrey. He’s been the constant, along with left tackle Trent Williams, for an offense that’s had to go for stretches without Brock Purdy, George Kittle and Ricky Pearsall, and has been without Brandon Aiyuk for the season. Add in that the defense has been without Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, and what McCaffrey’s meant to the 8–4 Niners is indisputable.
Again, Stafford or Maye will probably win MVP. But this is another guy worth mentioning.
2026 NFL draft
I’m starting to make draft calls, and my first takeaway is that the top of this year’s draft is shaping up to look a lot like the top of last year’s draft—lacking in top-end quality at the premium positions.
When I asked scouting directors whom the No. 1 pick would be, they struggled to come up with names. Maybe it’ll be Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza or Alabama’s Ty Simpson, though I don’t think the league sees those players as the types of prospects who were at the top of the 2024 draft. And if it’s not a quarterback, Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese, Miami pass rusher Rueben Bain Jr. and Utah tackle Spencer Fano were raised as possibilities to go first when I pressed for an answer.
Those three aren’t perfect either. You have to have a plan for Reese, who’s more Swiss Army knife than prototype (sort of like Micah Parsons was). Bain has a boxy, different type of build for a pass rusher. And Fano plays right tackle, not left, and some teams think he could be best at guard in the NFL.
We’ll have more on all these guys in the weeks and months to come.
New York Giants
The Giants’ move to let Shane Bowen go, and install Charlie Bullen as interim defensive coordinator, is, plainly, about the team blowing leads. After Sunday’s loss in Detroit, New York has blown five fourth-quarter leads this year, and four 10-plus-point leads.
For what it’s worth, Giants GM Joe Schoen was part of a similar situation in Miami in 2015. In early October of that year, the Dolphins fired Joe Philbin and empowered Dan Campbell to make more changes as he saw fit. He immediately fired defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle and elevated Lou Anarumo. Two months later, Campbell ousted OC Bill Lazor and elevated Zac Taylor to replace him. In both cases, it worked, to a reasonable degree.
One interesting wrinkle here is that Bowen is as close with Mike Vrabel as any coach in the NFL. The Giants’ next opponent? The Patriots.
Las Vegas Raiders
As for the other coordinator change this week, there’s only so much that veteran assistant Greg Olson can change from Chip Kelly’s Raiders offense.
But what should help is that Olson and Geno Smith have history. The new interim OC was the quarterback’s position coach in Seattle. My guess is that Olson will try to do more to protect Smith, though he’s in a tough spot since that would mean taking tight ends Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer, or running back Ashton Jeanty, out of a passing game that’s bereft of real threats at the receiver position.
Detroit Lions
This year’s been different for the Lions, whose 2024 season was a parade of dominance (until it wasn’t, at the very end). I asked Aidan Hutchinson about the bumpier road on Sunday and the challenges posed by the coaching changes. As he sees it, Detroit’s got a chance to be better off for all of it.
“We’ve had a little bit of adversity in these first 11 weeks with a few losses—I think these losses are going to serve us really well in the end,” Hutchinson said. “I think we’re gonna be hitting our stride right when we need to be, which is what you need to do in this league.”
We’ll see if it starts Thursday against the Packers.
Joe Burrow
The first-team reps that Joe Burrow took last week should help, with the Bengals ready to put Burrow back in the lineup, and the team on a short week before Thanksgiving night in Baltimore.
Happy Thanksgiving—I’m very thankful for all of you who keep coming out and consuming our content. We’ll keep it coming.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jaxon Smith-Njigba Might Be the NFL’s Most Outstanding Player.
