MVP

Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills. Joe Burrow is excelling for the Bengals and is rightly a frontrunner for MVP. He’s stylish, precise and mentally rock-solid, everything a franchise needs. But is he the most thrilling quarterback in the NFL? Right now, Allen is box office each and every week. But it’s not just the entertainment factor: Allen has a weaker supporting cast than Burrow and many of the other MVP contenders – imagine what he could do with Ja’Marr Chase as a teammate – and yet the Bills top the AFC at 7-1 thanks in large part to his passing and hammering runs.

Off the field, Tom Brady, in his third season as a broadcaster, has developed into one of the best in the booth. He had a rocky start to his career with Fox, but now sounds like a favorite uncle who also understands football on a forensic level. He also drops in the occasional gem, such as describing a Dak Prescott rocket to CeeDee Lamb as a “piss missile”. Brady rage-bating New England Patriots fans on his return to Foxborough was a nice touch too. “There was some deli meat given out by Drake Maye today,” Brady said after the Green Bay Packers stomped his former team on Sunday. Keep it up, Uncle Tom.

Offensive player of the year

Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the NFL’s best receiver by a significant margin. He accounts for 50% of Seattle’s receiving yards, the highest share for any wideout in the past 10 years. He is only the fourth player in the Super Bowl era to go for 100-plus yards in seven of his first eight games to start a season. Gibbs is having just that little bit better season in Detroit though. The Lions running back leads the NFL in total yards (1,132) and is joint leader in total touchdowns (11), despite playing one fewer game than some of his competitors. Call it recency bias but it is not only the stats that seal this award for Gibbs. His explosive game-winning performance against the formidable Minnesota Vikings defense at the start of November was something to savor. Minnesota had bottled Giibs up in the first half while looking good to keep their unbeaten run rolling, only for the running back to shred the purple and gold into confetti after the break. Maybe Minnesota fatigue helped. Maybe Detroit’s plan was to play them close then unleash their star back. What is certain is that Gibbs’s three-down ferocity and skills as a receiver have him in a class of his own.

Defensive player of the year

TJ Watt, OLB, Pittsburgh Steelers. Did anyone have the Steelers pegged to be leading the AFC North at the halfway stage? Me neither, but the black and yellow are on course for the playoffs yet again. Nothing new there. Except, maybe this season they’re not heading for a first-round defeat. Especially if Watt can keep the heart of Pittsburgh’s revitalized defense pumping. The outside linebacker led the league in sacks before the Steelers’ bye week, and he already has more this season (7.5) than he did in his 14 games last season (7.0). Maybe we should have seen this coming as he started the campaign in devastating fashion, with three tackles for loss, two sacks and two quarterback hits against the Falcons. He even got his first pick-six, a spectacular point-blank interception of Cooper Rush that saw Watt stumble to the deck but still have the quickness to rise and find the end zone.

Rookie of the year

Arvell Reese, LB, New York Giants. Reese destroyed the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday and made this award his own. He dominated for the Giants with 12 total tackles, three sacks, three quarterback hits and three tackles for loss. In the postgame press conference teammate Abdul Carter seemed happy to be working with Reese: “Shoutout to the four teams that passed on him in the draft.” Even being taken at No 5, he looks like a steal.

Biggest disappointment

The obvious answer is the Los Angeles Chargers: Justin Herbert and Co are enduring a season from hell, sitting winless after being earmarked for the postseason. Away from that dumpster fire, the Seattle Seahawks have been underperforming compared to their spectacular success last season. They have a deep injury list, a downtrodden Sam Darnold who has quietly been outplayed by his backup, Drew Lock, and a defense that hasn’t hit the heights of the team’s Super Bowl run. Both quarterbacks are carrying injuries as the 5-4 Seahawks prepare to face the Raiders on Sunday, and they have a tough schedule after that, with a trip to San Francisco and two dates with the Rams. The winless Chargers were supposed to be built for January football but the Super Bowl champions missing out on a wildcard would represent a greater disaster.

Super Bowl winner

Predicting Super Bowl winners is a tough old business. In my preseason predictions, I had the Denver Broncos going all the way, with the Chicago Bears missing the playoffs entirely. Now, the Bears look locked in for January football, as do the Broncos. But a champion should look better than they did the previous year. Denver haven’t kicked on from 2025 – they are still very good, but not great. The Bears, on the other hand, have made the leap. Their defense has improved from one of the NFL’s worst outfits to a top-10 unit, matching Caleb Williams and company’s consistent production on offense. The defense was great before Chicago traded for elite game-wrecker Jeffery Simmons, and his acquisition could propel the Bears to win it all. Williams’s four picks against the Buccaneers on Sunday are a cause for concern – maybe he’s still too green – but he didn’t crumble in the face of adversity. Ultimately, the Bears should be cheered by the fact that they held on to beat the Bucs – it showed the kind of steel every champion needs.

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