NFL Midseason Awards: Wide-open MVP race and lots of Colts in running for honors
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones throw during the first half an NFL game against the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 26 in Indianapolis. Credit: AP/Michael Conroy
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers
It’s hard to remember a season in which the Most Valuable Player award was more wide open . . . and in which there are so many new candidates to win it.
Sure, Patrick Mahomes is still very much in the running and he could become just the seventh player in league history to win the award three times. But the other perennial choices like Lamar Jackson, Saquon Barkley, Ja’Marr Chase and reigning MVP Josh Allen aren’t really in the conversation.
They’ve been replaced by the likes of Drake Maye, Jonathan Taylor, Jordan Love and even Daniel Jones. Yes, that Daniel Jones.
All of them are having standout seasons but there is one player who has truly embodied the award by being the person his team needs in nearly every situation they encounter: Baker Mayfield of the Buccaneers.
Mayfield has led his first-place team to a 6-2 record despite his top receiving options of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin only playing three and two games this season respectively. He’s thrown a touchdown in every game but last week’s 23-3 rout of the Saints (when he didn’t have to) and has led Tampa Bay to four wins with late fourth-quarter drives that took the lead.
Time will tell if he can keep that kind of pace going. If he can, he may wind up becoming just the third quarterback to win a Heisman and an MVP (Cam Newton and Jackson are the others).
Justin Herbert leads the NFL in passing yards. Mahomes and Matthew Stafford are tied for the league lead in touchdowns. Maye has the best passer rating among those who have started every game (Jackson’s was just a bit higher coming into Week 9 but he only played in four games). And Taylor is having the best season, although if Barkley didn’t win the award last year then no running back ever will again.
But if you want to win a game, if you want someone to lead a group of players forward, it’s hard to pick someone other than Mayfield so far this season.
Preseason pick: Lamar Jackson, Ravens
COACH OF THE YEAR
Shane Steichen, Colts
I looked back at some of the odds that were posted in August on who the first head coach fired this season would be. Mike McDaniel was the “favorite” at 2-1 and Brian Daboll was right behind him at 4-1. Certainly neither of them has done much to douse the flames under their seats even if they both beat the clock on being the first to go when the Titans axed Brian Callahan in mid-October. But the guy with the third-best odds to get whacked? He's our Midseason Coach of the Year.
Shane Steichen of the Colts was getting 7-1 odds of getting canned in those preseason predictions, which is pretty funny considering that his record right now is also 7-1. He’s turned Daniel Jones into a winner, has one of the highest-scoring offenses in NFL history and has turned Indianapolis from an afterthought to a contender.
Now, there is still plenty of season left for the Colts to come back to earth and the second half of their schedule starts on Sunday with the Steelers then also includes Kansas City, San Francisco and Seattle. Not quite the softies they faced in the first two months. Others, too, may make a push, including Dan Quinn, Mike Vrabel and Dan Campbell, who has excelled even after losing his top two coordinators. But the job Steichen has thus far done — especially considering the almost complete lack of outside expectations — makes him the odds-on favorite to win this award.
Preseason pick: Dan Quinn, Commanders
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
Who says it’s a passing league? For the second year in a row, it looks as if this award will go to a running back rather than a quarterback or wide receiver. Jonathan Taylor of the Colts may not reach the mythic 2,000 rushing yards total that Saquon Barkley posted last season, but he is on pace to threaten the single-season touchdown record of 31 set by LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006 (he has 14 through the first eight games, 12 rushing and two receiving). Taylor also leads the league in rushing yards with 850, putting him on pace to top 1,800. And while his 5.9 yards per carry is only second-best in the NFL and a smidge behind the 6.0 that James Cook of the Bills is averaging, consider that Taylor averages 4.3 yards after contact on his carries. His 646 such yards after contact are 200 more than anyone else in the league (Javante Williams has 444).
Preseason pick: Ja’Marr Chase, Bengals
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Micah Parsons, Packers
It would be nice if Brian Burns of the Giants started to get some much-deserved love in this category. Not only is he tied for the NFL lead in sacks with 10.0, putting him in striking distance of Michael Strahan’s record, but watching him up close every week truly illustrates the speed and intensity he brings on every down. He knows just one gear and that’s breakneck. He’d have my vote but it’s a long shot for him to win. Unfortunately for him, the Giants’ lack of success will likely take many other votes away from him. Since 2000, only four players have won Defensive Player of the Year while not making the playoffs: Strahan in 2001, Ed Reed in 2004, Jason Taylor in 2006 and J.J. Watt in 2014. And if the Giants really start to fizzle, those pass-rushing opportunities just won’t be there.
Myles Garrett of the Browns, the player with whom Burns is tied for that sack lead, also has the misfortune of playing for a team with an unimpressive record even though he is probably the most feared player in the league right now.
So who does that leave for the award? Aidan Hutchinson and Micah Parsons. And while both are having standout seasons and successful campaigns — and I picked Hutchinson in the preseason — Parsons has been more of a game-changer for the Packers after he was traded there just before the start of the season.
Preseason pick: Aidan Hutchinson, Lions
PROTECTOR OF THE YEAR
Penei Sewell, Lions
The league is adding an award for the best offensive lineman of the year this season and it should go to Lions right tackle Penei Sewell. He is one of the top run blockers in the NFL and has improved on his already strong pass protection this season. He is as much a key to Detroit’s offensive success this year as any quarterback or skill player. The race isn’t over, though, and there are plenty of other strong candidates including Trent Williams, Quenton Nelson and Garett Bolles. Andrew Thomas of the Giants should be in that conversation, too. But Sewell’s standout performance should make him the first to win this new honor.
Preseason pick: Jordan Mailata, Eagles
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Daniel Jones, Colts
Technically the league doesn’t give out “most improved player” awards. They call it the Comeback Player of the Year. It’s supposed to go to a guy who has overcome injury or physical hardship. But it’s hard to think of a player who is having a better comeback season than Daniel Jones is.
We’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of Jones’ last game with the Giants. It was Nov. 10 in Germany when he played his final snaps for the team that drafted him. After a bye week he was benched and then released on Nov. 22.
Now look at him! Jones has found his footing behind a really good offensive line, with a really good running back and some very strong targets, and he is thriving. He has led the Colts to a league-best 7-1 record while throwing 13 touchdowns (and running for another 4) and just three interceptions.
Jones clearly wasn’t a good fit with the Giants and certainly not with Brian Daboll’s complicated offense. But he’s being asked to do less in Indianapolis, is being protected better and is producing more. Much more. That’s what a change of scenery is supposed to provide and Jones is taking advantage of it.
Preseason pick: Caleb Williams, Bears
OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Tyler Warren, Colts
Jaxson Dart just became the first Giants quarterback to win an NFL Rookie of the Month award as he took the honor for October but he’s going to have to keep playing at a really high level to overtake Colts tight end Tyler Warren for the Rookie of the Year honors. Through eight games Warren leads all tight ends in receiving yards (492) and has scored three touchdowns. The Colts’ record for receiving yards by a rookie tight end, by the way, is 726 set in 1963 by Long Island’s John Mackey when the franchise was still in Baltimore. Keep an eye on Dart, though!
Preseason pick: Omarion Hampton, Chargers
DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Abdul Carter, Giants
When you look at the tangible stats Abdul Carter has posted this season compared to the metrics he is putting up it’s like examining two different players. On the raw production side of things he has just 0.5 sacks, 21 tackles, and no takeaways despite the Giants continually trying to find ways to free him up and keep him on the field. And yet he is also tied for the NFL lead (not just among rookies) in quick pressures (under 2.5 seconds) with 19, has 33 total quarterback pressures (which ranks 8th in the NFL) and ESPN puts his pass rush win rate at 19%. If he can start finishing, Carter should be able to run away with this award. With few other standout options as of now, though, he still gets the nod.
Preseason pick: Abdul Carter, Giants
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
