The NFL regular season is rapidly progressing and with that, the conversation of best players has begun to formulate among sports fans. Every year, fans try to figure out who will win the NFL Most Valuable Player before it is announced at NFL honors. Now is the time to look ahead as to who will win these NFL awards and how each award impacts that person.
After losing star wide receiver Stefon Diggs and not making a real attempt to replace him, many thought the Buffalo Bills would begin to lose their grip of the AFC East. This wouldn’t be the case, as behind quarterback and MVP candidate Josh Allen, the Bills are currently the second seed in the AFC. Through 11 games, Allen has put up 2,543 passing yards and 18 passing touchdowns with a quarterback rating of 72.7, which is fourth best in the league this year. On top of being a great passer, Allen has also added 316 yards on the ground with five rushing touchdowns.
The award will most likely go to Allen despite a great season from Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson because of how he has carried his team. Allen is doing all of this with very little help throughout the season, with his top receiver being Khalil Shakir, who has put up only 599 yards on the season.
The Bills have tried to amend this by bringing in star wide receiver Amari Cooper at the trade deadline, so Allen is only projected to get even better numbers as the season continues. Allen has been nominated for MVP before, but this season is his best chance to bring the award home.
The last eleven MVPs have been quarterbacks and usually, when a player has a historic season who doesn’t play quarterback, they end up getting the Offensive Player of the Year. Someone with a great chance to win this award is Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley.
This offseason, Barkley left the New York Giants for their NFC East rival Eagles and the Giants made a huge mistake letting him leave. Barkley is second in the NFL in rushing yards with 1,137 yards while also putting up eight rushing touchdowns. With the addition of Barkley this offseason, the Eagles currently lead the league in rushing yards per game.
An argument can be made for Ravens running back Derrick Henry who is leading the league in rushing yards with 1185 yards on the ground and 13 rushing touchdowns. Last season, however, the Ravens had the top-ranked rushing offense whereas the Eagles were only in the top ten. The addition of Barkley has added another level of danger to the Eagles offense, which has surpassed the team leading rusher from last year.
Last year, there was drama surrounding the winner of the Defensive Player of the Year award Myles Garrett and Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt as to who really deserved the award. This year it seems like that won’t be an issue as Watt is running away with the award early. The Steelers defense ranks top ten in yards allowed per game, top five in rushing yards allowed and second in points allowed.
This is in large thanks to Watt’s efforts as he leads the team with seven and a half sacks and four forced fumbles, which is tied for the league lead. While Watt is not leading the league in sacks like Cincinnati Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson, the star edge rusher has been the face of one of the best teams in the NFL. The Steelers are the third seed in the AFC despite having an offense that has seen injuries and fluctuation at the starting quarterback position. Whenever the Steelers have needed a huge play Watt seems to force a turnover or get a sack to keep the Steelers in the game.
For Allen, an MVP can finally legitimize him as an all-time great quarterback who is only missing a championship. For Barkley, an OPOY would serve as proof as to why his former team messed up not paying him. For Watt, this would be his second DPOY and would help propel his case as a future hall of famer and one of the best defenders of the decade. It will be very interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out for these three or if someone can come and usurp them for the awards.
Jasper Greuel is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note the views expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Jasper about his column? email him at jg453620@ohio.edu.
