The plan was to do a quarterly update, but with how busy I have been, this is the first chance I am having to do this. In this article, I will be detailing the front runner on the big Award Races, the playoff races(and choosing the most interesting), detailing major injuries that are currently out there and pointing out some interesting statistics.
Award Races:
MVP: The biggest race has a frontrunner early on in New England's Dareon Elliott. His 22 touchdowns by the midway mark of the season has him out to a distinctive advantage. The only two players in position to challenge him for the award are rookie Browns QB, Zachery Bledsoe and Texans running back Sedrick Knox.
Coach Of the Year: Kendall Thomas of New England is 8-0, and the immediate frontrunner as the last remaining unbeaten team.
Offensive Player of the Year, AFC: The combo of Elliott, Bledsoe and Knox are the frontrunners for OPOY in the AFC, unsurprisingly based on the MVP race. Elliott's touchdowns give him the advantage here as well.
Offensive Player of the Year, NFC: This was looking to be a competitive two way race between Khyri Toler of the 49ers and DeMarcus Royal of the Bears, but a broken collarbone for Royal as made Toler the lead dog and the only realistic option unless someone has a big surge the 2nd half of the season.
Defensive Player of the Year, AFC: This award is coming down to a competition between the Browns and Patriots for who has the best defense. Currently, the Browns have 4 players in the top 10 for the award and the Patriots also have 4. Dillard Poe and his 10 interceptions lead this race.
Defensive Player of the Year, NFC: Last year's winner, Jermaine Worthen of the Bears has 11 sacks and is the frontrunner for the NFC. Seattle's Josiah Breaston and his 8 interceptions are right on his tail for the award.
Standout Rookies:
QB's: Browns, Zachary Bledsoe currently leads all rookie passers in passing yards and passing touchdowns, with 2,484 and 26.
RB's: Tremondae Phillip of the Saints leads all rookie RB's with 784 yards rushing. Stehle Tarrant of the Browns is 2nd with 638 and Shaakir Rutledge of the Steelers is 3rd with 548.
WR's: Justice Searcy of the Bears leads all rookie WR's with 966 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Jordin McGowan of the Raiders is right on his heels with 954 receiving yards with James Spicer of the Patriots rounding out the top 3 with 728 yards.
TE's: Jarrett Chester of the Dolphins leads all rookie tight ends with 620 yards and 4 touchdowns.
OL: Riley Zimmer of the Texans is the only rookie OL with more than 500 snaps played and 0 sacks given up. The next closest is Pat Sloan of the Steelers with 432 snaps.
DL/LB: Simuel Flemons of the Falcons leads all defensive rookies with 8.5 sacks. Wayne Divens, of the Jaguars, leads all defensive rookies with 63 tackles.
DB's: The Browns have a rookie safety tandem of Dillard Poe and Rashard Ham, who have combined for 16 interceptions, 16 deflections and 107 combined tackles.
K/P: No one is currently using a rookie kicker or punter.
Playoff Races:
AFC 1st Seed:
1. Patriots | 8-0
2. Steelers | 7-1
3. Browns | 7-1
4. Texans | 7-1
Week 16 will be a big week for this race as the Browns and Patriots could be playing for a 1st round by when that game comes around. The Steelers will also have to play the Browns twice, week 14 and 17, which will both have huge implications in the division and 1st round bye races.
AFC North:
1. Steelers | 7-1
2. Browns | 7-1
As stated above, the key weeks for this race are week 14 and 17 when they play head to head.
AFC West:
1. Chiefs | 5-3
2. Chargers | 5-3
They "play" their second game of the season this week. With their situation, the Chargers will go up on the division and have the advantage going into the 2nd half of the season.
AFC South:
1. Texans | 7-1
2. Jaguars | 5-3
The Jaguars dug themselves a hole early on with 2 losses to start the season including one to the Texans. Week 17 will be when they meet next, the Jaguars will need some help but they can work themselves back into the race for 1st in the South.
AFC East:
1. Patrios | 8-0
Patriots are starting to run away with the division with a mid season 4 game cushion.
NFC 1st Seed:
1. 49ers | 7-1
2. Falcons | 6-2
3. Bears | 6-2
4. Washington | 6-2
49ers have the advantage based on a win over the Bears. For the 2nd by spot, the Bears have the advantage of the Falcons based on their win earlier in the season.
NFC North:
1. Bears | 6-2
2. Vikings | 5-3
3. Lions | 4-4
Last previous two seasons, the Bears/Vikings split their two games. Minnesota best way to win the division is to take both games from the Bears this season. If the Bears/Vikings do end up splitting, Detroit can find it's way to the top of the North with some help.
NFC West:
1. 49ers | 7-1
2. Rams | 5-3
3. Seahawks | 5-3
The 49ers have already beat the Rams and Seahawks once this season and are in a good position to win the division. Both the Rams and Seahawks will have to win their second game to have a chance at unseating the 49ers.
NFC South:
1. Falcons | 6-2
2. Buccaneers | 4-4
3. Panthers | 4-4
The Falcons are off to a great start in the South as they have already beat the Bucs twice and the Panthers once. They do play the Panthers in week 17, so if the Panthers get some help, then they could be playing for the division in that final week.
NFC East:
1. Washington | 6-2
2. Giants | 3-5
The Giants will have to win this week against Washington to give themselves a chance to make this a race.
Big Injuries:
Demarcus Royal, Bears: Last season's MVP will miss the entire second half of the season. How will this affect the Bears run game and their battle for a bye and the NFC North?
Will Money, Bucs: In the same game that Royal was injured, on the opposite sideline the Bucs lost their starting RB. Marquise Derby came in and gave the run game a boost and is now averaging 8.4 yards per carry on his oppurtunities this season. Could Derby be the spark that the Bucs need to get back atop the NFC South?
Interesting Statistics:
Coach Wins: Kendall Thomas joined Chetty Twelve as the only coaches to reach the 100 win plateau. We also have a couple of new owners with a great win percentage since joining in Bam Beast(Texans) at 79% and Sweetz Mack(Seahawks) at 75%.
Career Records: Dareon Elliott, RB for the Patriots, is approaching the record for touchdowns in a career. He currently is at 157 rushing touchdowns, 7 away from the record. Melvin Gordon and Todd Gurley have also broken into the top 10 with 108 and 102 respectively. JJ Watt is continuing his surge toward the sack record. He is currently at 178, 22 sacks away. Von Miller ahs also worked his way into the top 10 with 144. It was also already pointed out but Kwon Alexander now leads all players in interceptions for a career and continues to build on his total. Will he be the first player to have 100 for his career?
Penalties: Currently, the Bengals have the most penalties with 45 and the Bucs have the fewest with 6.