Prediction Review 

Alright, alright, alright. The NFL is nine weeks in and has been great. The Pittsburgh Steelers are 8-0 and the New York Jets are 0-9. There are your two extremes, fans. 

The Dallas Cowboys have been decimated by injuries and therefore have been extremely underwhelming. That is the understatement of the century; they are 2-7 and have only beaten the Atlanta Falcons, by sheer luck and bad coaching for the Falcons, and the New York Giants. All I have to say is the New York Giants and everyone should understand why the Cowboys should beat the Giants. Sadly, the Cowboys lost the Washington Football Team by 25 and the Philadelphia Eagles by 14. That was the prediction I got wrong, really wrong. I had the Cowboys going 13-3 this year. I don’t know if they are even going to get to five wins this year. 

The prediction that I have been right on, record wise, is the Indianapolis Colts. I had them going 11-5 and at the moment they are 5-3. They have one of the best defenses in the league, and Phillip Rivers has been playing well as of late. Their running game is pitiful though, as they average the lowest amount of rush yards per play in the league. The Colts’ kicker is amazing. Rookie Rodrigo Blakenship is 17-19 on field goals and 19-21 on extra points. For their final record, I still have the Colts around 11-5, with 10-6 being a more likely outcome. 

The prediction I got really right in the player department was Ronald Jones II, running back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I had him as their breakout player, and I’m not trying to brag, but I was spot on. He has 538 rushing yards to go along with four touchdowns. This is a major step up from last year in which the third year man out of USC only ran for 724 yards throughout the whole year. He is on pace for just under 1000 yards and seven touchdowns this year. Jones also has only one fumble on the year, which shows major improvement as he fumbled four times last year. 

The prediction I got really, really, really, wrong was Will Fuller V. I had him as the bust player for the Houston Texans, but he has been one of the lone bright spots on the team, along with Deshaun Watson of course. Fuller has 36 receptions for 590 yards and six touchdowns on the season. He is on pace for almost 1200 yards and 12 touchdowns on the year. I apologize Mr. Fuller, I severely mispredicted what you were going to do this season. 

Award Predictions at Midseason 

Offensive Rookie of the Year – Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers, Quarterback 

Everyone thinks Joe Burrow, the quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals, is going to win this award. Yes, he has 2272 passing yards. Yes he was the first overall pick in this year’s draft. But my man Justin Herbert has 2146 and 17 touchdown passes. Burrow only has 11 touchdown passes. Herbert has looked way more comfortable than Burrow; now this is a credit to his offensive line, and he has more fantasy points than Burrow this season as well. 

Defensive Rookie of the Year – Chase Young, Washington Football Team, Defensive End 

The 6’ 5”, 264-pound 21-year-old out of Ohio State has been dominating this year. He has 3.5 sacks this year, to go along with one forced fumble. This rookie will only continue to get better, as he continues to learn from 32-year-old defensive end Ryan Kerrigan. 

Comeback Player of the Year – Alex Smith, Washington Football Team, Quarterback 

Not much needs to be said here. Alex Smith broke his leg in 2018 and he had to have 17 surgeries to save the leg. At one point his life was in jeopardy. At one point they thought his leg was going to have to be amputated. Smith has taken over the starting job, as starting quarterback Kyle Allen’s ankle was dislocated and had a small fracture on Sunday. Alex Smith will win comeback player of the year. 

Offensive Player of the Year – Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings, Running back 

This man has been impressing all year. He missed a game with a groin injury and still leads the league in rushing yards with 858 of them. He also leads the league in total touchdowns with 13. That is three more than Tyreek Hill (10). wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs, who has played in all of his team’s games this year. He is sixth in the league in fantasy points according to fantasy.nfl.com. He is 2nd in fantasy points for non quarterbacks, only trailing the New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara. 

Defensive Player of the Year – Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams, Defensive Tackle

This would be Donald’s 3rd Defensive Player of the Year Award, tying him with retired linebacker of the New York Giants Lawrence Taylor and current defensive end for the Houston Texans J.J. Watt. Donald is tied for the most sacks in the NFL with defensive end Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns with nine. Donald also has three forced fumbles which is tied for third in the league. He has led the Rams to the second overall defense in the NFL, according to lineups.com. 

Most Valuable Player – Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs, Quarterback

I am sorry Russell Wilson, but it is going to happen again. You may not even receive a vote this year, which is a shame because you lead the league in passing touchdowns with 28… but Patrick Mahomes has been better. He has thrown 25 touchdown passes and only a single interception. Wilson has thrown eight. The Chiefs are 8-1. The Seattle Seahawks, Russel Wilson’s team, are 6-2. Mahomes has 2,687 passing yards this year which is second in the league. The MVP voting will finish like so: 1. Patrick Mahomes 2. Russell Wilson. I do think Wilson will receive some votes, but Mahomes will win by a boatload. 

Super Bowl Pick – Kansas City Chiefs vs Green Bay Packers

This is a change from my previous pick (Baltimore Ravens vs Seattle Seahawks), but the Chiefs offense looks unstoppable, again, and their defense has improved again this year. The Packers defense has some work to do, but their offense is cooking. 

The NFL is well underway, but their is still a lot to determine going forward.