Back
The midway point of the 2026 season has arrived, and once again, another NFL campaign has gone differently than expected. Entering the year with high expectations, the Rams, Eagles, Chargers and Texans have all been disappointments, with each currently sitting outside the NFL’s playoff picture. On the flipside, the Giants and Browns—whom many thought could be contending for the No. 1 pick in the 2027 draft—have both been pleasant surprises, owning winning records while remaining in the postseason hunt through nine weeks.
Naturally, these surprises have helped shape this year’s end-of-season awards races, with several players and coaches who may not have been on the radar before the season emerging as contenders.
With the second half of the season on the horizon, our NFL news writers, Eva Geitheim and Mike Kadlick, each give their picks for the league’s top individual honors through Week 9.
Joe Burrow was my preseason pick to win NFL MVP this year, and he is still my choice midway through the season. Burrow has been on an absolute tear, accounting for 18 total touchdowns over his past four games. Overall, he has completed 74% of his passes for 2,386 yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions. He leads the NFL in completion percentage and touchdown passes, and is second in passing yards. Burrow has previously put up prolific numbers when he led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns in 2024, but the Bengals failed to make the playoffs so he was not a top MVP candidate. This time around, the Bengals are 6–2, with the chance to take the lead in the AFC North this Sunday.
While my latest look at the 2026 MVP race not only had Joe Burrow as the leader in the clubhouse but Jordan Love outside the top five, what the Packers’ quarterback did on Sunday against the Patriots has catapulted him to the top of my list. His magnum opus, as I called it in our MMQB midseason report, saw Love complete 79.3% of his passes for 372 yards, account for four total touchdowns and finish with a career-high 153.2 passer rating while leading Green Bay to a 45–27 win over New England. He now leads the NFL in passing yards (2,618), is second in passing touchdowns behind only Burrow and Kirk Cousins, and has led the Packers to wins in four of their past five games while the offense has averaged 26.6 points per game in that span. Of course, Bills quarterback Josh Allen belongs in this conversation as well, as he remains near the top of the MVP odds and has Buffalo tied for the league’s best record at 7–1.
The Lions own one of the NFL’s best offenses through the first nine weeks of the season, and much of it has to do with Jahmyr Gibbs. The fourth-year running back leads the league in all-purpose yards (1,132), rushing yards per game (105.9) and total touchdowns (11, tied with Kenneth Walker III) through nine weeks and has helped Detroit’s offense gain the fourth-most yards per game (379.8) and the fifth-most points per game (27.8). Gibbs’s innate playmaking ability, meanwhile, has seen him log the most 10-plus-yard gains among running backs this season (27) as well as the most first-down conversions (55). Oh yeah, and he’s also a threat in the passing game, having caught 34 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns through the air this season.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is coming off his worst game of the season, a 51-yard outing against the Cardinals, but he should not be counted out in the Offensive Player of the Year race. Smith-Njigba leads all receivers with 1,036 yards and nine touchdowns. He is no longer on pace to reach 2,000 receiving yards (he is currently on track to fall eight yards short of Calvin Johnson’s record-setting 1,964 yards), but is still tracking for 1,956 yards, a mark that would certainly be worthy of a second consecutive OPOY trophy. Beyond Gibbs and Smith-Njigba, quarterbacks such as Burrow and Love could contend for the award, especially if both continue putting up prolific numbers and don’t win MVP. OPOY has turned into the de facto award for the best nonquarterback so no signal-caller has won it since Patrick Mahomes did in 2018, but Burrow’s and Love’s production could certainly merit consideration for OPOY.
Will Anderson Jr. is the odds-on favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year award, and for good reason. Through nine weeks, the 25-year-old leads the NFL in sacks (9.5) and tackles for loss (14, tied with Quinnen Williams), while ranking second in pressures (44) and quick pressures (19) for a pressure-rate of 17.6%. Additionally, after an 0–4 start, Anderson has helped the Texans’ defense hold opponents to just 19.3 points per game over the past four weeks, allowing them to win three out of their past four games and find themselves back in the hunt for an AFC wild-card spot.
Anderson was my preseason choice for DPOY, and a player I still think he is deserving of that award midway through the season. The biggest factor going against Anderson is that the Texans’ defense has been a major disappointment this season, even if Anderson isn’t to blame for those woes. Another player that deserves strong consideration for the award is linebacker Fred Warner. It’s not easy for an inside linebacker to win DPOY; the last one to do it was Hall of Famer Luke Kuechly in 2013. Warner, however, is second in the DPOY odds behind Anderson. What helps his case is that he has the statistics to bolster his résumé. He is eighth in tackles with 77, but most impressively, leads all linebackers in forced fumbles with five. Warner’s ability to force turnovers combined with him leading an improved 49ers defense makes him a great candidate for the award.
The Coach of the Year award typically goes to the first-year coach that pulls off the best turnaround of the season, transforming a losing team into a playoff contender in one season. This year, John Harbaugh fits that billing as he has the Giants leading the NFC East with a 5-2-1 record after they won just four games in 2025. The turnaround is far from the only reason Harbaugh is deserving of Coach of the Year honors. His Giants have handled adversity well this season. Despite losing both quarterback Jaxson Dart and star edge rusher Brian Burns early in the year, they have not just stayed competitive, but are leading their division and on track for the playoffs. They’ve had to start three different quarterbacks, including J.J. McCarthy, who has played well so far in New York despite quickly flaming out with the Vikings. If McCarthy is able to keep up this level of play and lead the Giants to the postseason, it will be hard not to look at Harbaugh as the Coach of the Year winner.
What Harbaugh has done with the Giants through his first two-plus months on the job has been incredible, there’s no two ways about it. New York has already notched more wins through eight games than it did all of last season and is in prime position to win the NFC East. That said, my pick here is Ben Johnson. The second-year coach has the Bears at 7–2, riding a four-game winning streak and sitting in the No. 2 spot in the NFC playoff picture. He’s also far from just a motivational speaker and a stanky-legger. Unlike Harbaugh, who plays the role of CEO head coach, Johnson has his hands on the proverbial wheel of Chicago’s offense snap-in and snap-out, helping both quarterback Caleb Williams become an MVP candidate and the unit as a whole gain the third-most yards per game (383.0) and score the seventh-most points per game (26.8) this season. He also led the Bears to wins with backup QBs Case Keenum and Tyson Bagent under center.
After tearing both his ACL and LCL in Week 15 last season, Patrick Mahomes attacked his rehab with a vengeance—so much so that he was able to return to the Chiefs’ lineup for Week 1 against the Broncos to begin 2026. So far, while he may not be putting up the counting stats he did during his 50-touchdown season in 2018, the 30-year-old has Kansas City at 6–2 heading into Week 10 while posting his highest passer rating (101.8) since ’22 and helping the offense gain the second-most yards per game (384.1) and the 10th-most points per game (25.3).
Mahomes is naturally the favorite to win Comeback Player of the Year. He impressively returned from a torn ACL in nine months and has the Chiefs back in the playoff race. Mahomes, however, hasn’t run away with the award yet. The Chiefs have leaned heavily on the ground game in his return, and it’s possible that another player could gain ground in the race with a stellar second half to the season. Last season marked the first time since 2017 that a quarterback didn’t win Comeback Player of the Year as Christian McCaffrey took home the award. This time, another 49er in Fred Warner could be deserving. Warner missed the majority of 2025 with a broken ankle, but has immediately returned to All-Pro form this season. Outside of Warner, both CB/WR Travis Hunter and WR Malik Nabers should be mentioned in this award race as both young stars have played well in their returns from injury.
No. 4 pick Carnell Tate has been one of the lone bright spots for the 1–7 Titans this season. Through eight games, the 21-year-old has hauled in 34 catches for 413 yards and a touchdown, while pacing Tennessee in targets (51) and first downs (18, tied with Wan’Dale Robinson). Unfortunately, Tate missed the Titans’ Week 8 matchup against the Bengals with a shoulder injury and, even after a bye week last Sunday, missed Tennessee’s first practice of Week 10, putting his status for Sunday’s matchup against the Jaguars in jeopardy. To be clear, Tate’s my pick at the halfway point—but with Fernando Mendoza taking over as the Raiders’ starting quarterback after this week’s Kirk Cousins trade, the 2026 No. 1 pick could very well make a push for the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award with a respectable performance down the stretch of the season.
Like last season, no player is running away with the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. While Tate has impressed, I’m going to roll with my preseason pick for the award: Denzel Boston. The Browns’ second-round pick leads all rookies in receiving yards (507) and has quickly emerged as a great deep threat for Cleveland’s offense. What could hurt Boston in the OROY race is he is competing with his own teammate, fellow rookie wideout KC Concepcion. Concepcion has had a stellar rookie season in his own right, tallying 437 yards and a touchdown so far.
Arvell Reese has been dominant for the Giants midway through the 2026 season. He has excelled at quickly taking down ball carriers and pass catchers in open space. While he is still primarily lining up at inside linebacker, he has recorded 4.5 sacks and a 15.9% pressure rate this season when rushing the passer. He is coming off his finest performance of the season in which he tallied three sacks and a forced fumble in the Giants’ win over the Eagles, cementing his case for Defensive Rookie of the Year at this point in the year.
Despite sitting at just 2–7 on the season, the Jets’ future is looking bright thanks to a rookie class headlined by edge rusher David Bailey. The 2026 No. 2 pick has shown a knack for finding the football to begin his first professional season, leading the league in forced fumbles (five, tied with Fred Warner) while racking up 44 total tackles and 7.5 sacks—tied for fourth-most in the NFL. Bailey’s college teammate, Jacob Rodriguez, deserves a mention, too, as he’s logged 79 total tackles (seventh-most in the NFL) to go along with a sack, an interception and a forced fumble through the Dolphins’ first eight games.
More often than not, a great offense starts up front, and the backbone of the Lions’ offensive line is Penei Sewell. The 2021 first-round pick currently ranks in the top 10 in both run block win rate (82%, T-4th) and pass block win rate (90%, T-10th) while helping Detroit’s offense gain the fourth-most yards per game (379.8) and score the fifth-most points per game (27.8). A four-time Pro Bowler and a three-time first-team All-Pro, Sewell has established himself as one of the NFL’s best offensive linemen over his first five-plus seasons, and is more than deserving of the league’s second-annual Protector of the Year award in 2026.
At 38, future Hall of Famer Trent Williams is off to another excellent start. The 49ers’ left tackle has done a great job protecting quarterback Brock Purdy, ranking second in the NFL in ESPN’s pass block win rate. He also is the leader of an offensive line that did not allow a single sack for the first four weeks of the season and ranks last in sacks allowed (eight). He has succeeded even when facing some elite pass rush units such as the Broncos or Myles Garrett.
Back
Top
| Privacy Statement Terms of Service Contact |
Refresh
|
All the best breaking news stories from Apex Scores Lite. Optimised for feature phones and low end Android devices, Apex Scores Lite helps users with legacy devices and poor network connectivity access the latest football news and live scores. Particularly relevant for breaking football news in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.