Mid-Season Awards
Top Player: Derrick Henry (Titans)
Even after a great road win against the Rams last week in their first full game without him, it's really hard to gauge what the Titans offense will look like or how successful they will be with Henry sidelined for the rest of the season. Through the first 8 games as the passing game struggled to get on track due to widespread injuries to their receivers and trying to adjust to new OC Todd Downing's scheme, Henry was forced to shoulder the brunt of the offensive burden and per usual, he was handling that daunting responsibility like it a champion. He put up a preposterous 1,091 scrimmage YDS (937 rushing, 154 receiving and 10 TD's on 237 touches during his time on the field this season-which is particularly incredible since 2 of those games featured him receiving a much smaller workload than usual on account of gameflow (their Week 1 blowout loss to the Cardinals) and the foot injury that ultimately cost him his season (Week 8 against the Colts). No player in the league impacted the game on a weekly basis like Henry did in 2021 and his presence will be sorely missed the rest of the way.
Top Offensive Player: Derrick Henry (Titans)
It may be lazy to pick Henry to for both honors he's eligible for, but look at what the other current MVP candidates have done in comparison. Matthew Stafford just imploded in primetime versus the first real opponent he's faced in about a month, Tom Brady is propping up his multiple dud outings (Patriots, Saints, Rams) with explosions against bad defenses (Falcons, Dolphins) and Dak Prescott has missed time and happens to be coming off the worst game he played this season. Henry just doesn't have those type of flaws on his 2021 season resume. Plus, it only seems right to double up now since he's effectively disqualified from winning any year-end awards.
Top Defensive Player: Myles Garrett (Browns)
Could this finally be Garrett's time to seize Defensive Player of the Year? If he keeps playing at his current level, it seems like a very strong possibility. The dominant edge rusher has survived a rash of injuries to his defensive running mates that have brought him even more attention from opposing offenses to put up a league-leading 12 sacks -which is just 1.5 shy of his career high set back in 2018 and 33 tackles through 9 games.
Top Offensive Rookie: Ja'Marr Chase (Bengals)
I think it's safe to say that Chase's brutal training camp and preseason performance was either a fluke or just an elaborate ruse designed to cool off the significant hype that surrounded the LSU product during the draft. Chase has been a revelation for a Bengals offense that had lacked a versatile playmaking piece in the passing game despite having a talented receiver room for years now and his home run hitting ability from all levels of the field has made Joe Burrow's return from a torn ACL go a lot smoother than expected thus far.
Top Defensive Rookie: Micah Parsons (Cowboys)
An injury to Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah has effectively made this a one-horse race. Parsons is the only defensive rookie to score major playing time and consistently make standout plays all season long.
Top Coach: Kliff Kingsbury (Cardinals)
While I'm still not convinced that Kingsbury is a good coach or that the Cardinals can be taken seriously as contenders, it's hard not to be impressed by what his team has done this season. Several of their young players (Byron Murphy, Isaiah Simmons, Jalen Thompson) have taken notable steps forward, they've overcome some real adversity with key injuries on both sides of the ball-especially during last week's blowout win over the 49ers and they've popped a few of the league's best teams (Rams, Titans, Browns) during their path to a league-best 8-1 record.
Top Comeback Player: Dak Prescott (Cowboys)
Before last week's disaster against the Broncos and his absence the prior week against the Vikings, Prescott was among the early frontrunners for MVP. Just a year removed from the now infamous brutal ankle injury he suffered in October 2020, Prescott looked as sharp and decisive as ever under center as he led the Cowboys to an impressive 5-1 start. We'll find out before too long if last week's dud was just a speed bump in an otherwise incredible comeback campaign or the first chapter of a tragic post-Bye week decline for America's Team.
All-Pro Team
Quarterback
1st team: Matthew Stafford (Rams)
2nd team: Tom Brady (Buccaneers)
Running Back
1st team: Derrick Henry (Titans), Jonathan Taylor (Colts)
2nd team: Ezekiel Elliott (Cowboys), Nick Chubb (Browns)
Wide Receiver
1st team: Cooper Kupp (Rams), Davante Adams (Packers)
2nd team: Ja'marr Chase (Bengals), Deebo Samuel (49ers)
Tight End
1st team: Mark Andrews (Ravens)
2nd team: Travis Kelce (Chiefs)
Tackle
1st team: Trent Williams (49ers), Ryan Ramcyzk (Saints)
2nd team: Rashawn Slater (Chargers), David Quassenberry (Titans)
Guard
1st team: Zach Martin (Cowboys), Joel Bitonio (Browns)
2nd team: Ali Marpet (Buccaneers), Wyatt Teller (Browns)
Center
1st team: Creed Humphrey (Chiefs)
2nd team: Jason Kelce (Eagles)
Defensive End
1st team: Myles Garrett (Browns), Maxx Crosby (Raiders)
2nd team: Cameron Heyward (Steelers), Nick Bosa (49ers)
Defensive Tackle
1st team: Aaron Donald (Rams), Kenny Clark (Packers)
2nd team: Jonathan Allen (Football Team), Vita Vea (Buccaneers)
Inside Linebacker
1st team: Eric Kendricks (Vikings), De'Vondre Campbell (Packers)
2nd team: Demario Davis (Saints), Bobby Wagner (Seahawks)
Outside Linebacker
1st team: T.J. Watt (Steelers), Matthew Judon (Patriots)
2nd team: Darious Leonard (Colts), Chandler Jones (Cardinals)
Cornerback
1st team: Casey Hayward (Raiders), Jalen Ramsey (Rams)
2nd team: A.J. Terrell (Falcons), Darius Slay (Eagles)
Safety
1st team: Kevin Byard (Titans), Jordan Poyer (Bills)
2nd team: Marcus Williams (Saints), Antoine Winfield Jr. (Buccaneers)
Kicker
1st team: Justin Tucker (Ravens)
2nd team: Tyler Bass (Bills)
Punter
1st team: Corey Bojorquez (Packers)
2nd team: A.J. Cole (Raiders)
Playoff Predictions:
AFC:
1.Ravens
2.Titans
3.Bills
4.Chargers
5.Steelers
6.Patriots
7.Chiefs
Wild Card:
Titans over Chiefs
Bills over Patriots
Steelers over Chargers
Divisional Round:
Ravens over Steelers
Titans over Bills
Conference Championship:
Titans over Ravens
NFC:
1.Buccaneers
2.Cardinals
3.Cowboys
4.Packers
5.Rams
6.Saints
7.Seahawks
Wild Card:
Seahawks over Cardinals
Cowboys over Saints
Packers over Rams
Divisional Round:
Buccaneers over Seahawks
Packers over Cowboys
Conference Championship:
Buccaneers over Packers
Super Bowl:
Buccaneers over Titans
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