Christmas Eve noticed many of the NFL’s slate performed on Saturday and it was freezing at most stadiums. Recovering from frostbite whereas opening presents as a household apparently was a needed evil to some. In two of the three stadiums the place followers weren’t shivering, two of the NFL’s main awards had been determined. Doesn’t matter what occurs within the remaining two weeks of the season. And disregard the Vikings and Giants each including one other one-score recreation to their resumes. It’s the showdowns within the Bay Area and Lone Star State that apply right here.
Nick Sirianni shall be your NFL Coach of the Year, regardless of his workforce shedding its second recreation of the season yesterday. Nick Bosa would be the NFL Defensive Player of the Year after the Commanders couldn’t cease him from rocking each Taylor Heinicke and Carson Wentz into 2023. The 49ers defensive finish had seven tackles, two sacks, a compelled fumble and 5 pressures within the win over Washington. Not to say, he sacked Wentz on a 2-point conversion attempt that gained’t get added to his stats. If something, Bosa’s efficiency wants consideration for total league MVP, regardless of Vegas’ assertion it’s a two-man, two-quarterback race between Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts. It’s changed into a quarterback award, very similar to the Heisman Trophy, and the NFL MVP ought to’ve gone to Cooper Kupp final season. The case will unfairly seemingly by no means be made for Bosa.
Bosa has 17.5 sacks on the season and it isn’t a runaway from Patriots outdoors linebacker Matt Judon who has 15.5. With how the Patriots have performed, there’s no means the league provides him severe consideration. Judon is perhaps implausible, however the NFL has made it clear that in case your workforce sucks, you’ll be able to’t rid your self of the suck. And subsequently, having some suck eliminates Judon. Bosa can also be third within the league in quarterback pressures (51), regardless of lacking a recreation earlier this season. You can wager Bosa would have added to each spectacular totals if he didn’t miss a Week 6 matchup in opposition to the Falcons.
The rivals to Bosa for Defensive Player of the Year principally paled compared coming into yesterday’s video games. It was a little bit murkier for Sirianni’s probabilities, primarily due to the competitors. Yes, the Eagles solely misplaced one recreation all season previous to Saturday in opposition to the Commanders. It would’ve been a one-score loss with out attempting for Music City Miracle-style end, which led to a Washington defensive landing as the sport expired. Philadelphia did sufficient in a one-score highway loss to an 11-4 Dallas workforce with out Hurts behind heart to show Sirianni’s case shall be too robust.
With Gardner Minshew at quarterback, Philadelphia’s offense didn’t miss a lot of a beat. The elusiveness of Hurts was a layer of the Eagles’ offense that was gone, but the Birds nonetheless put up 34 factors in opposition to an above-average Cowboys protection. Sirianni is an offensive-minded coach and at all times has been. The critique of why his protection gave up 40 factors is legitimate, however it must be balanced with one of many frontrunners for league MVP not in uniform at AT&T Stadium, and maintaining with the Cowboys.
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Andy Reid and Sean McDermott’s names shall be within the coach of the 12 months conversations. Throw in Giants rookie head coach Brian Daboll, too, for a way shortly he’s turned Big Blue again right into a playoff workforce which solely a psychopath would have predicted earlier than the season. Kevin O’Connell has performed an excellent job in Minnesota however has a comparable resume to Sirianni’s, and it’s clearly weaker in comparison immediately. Kyle Shanahan is a darkish horse after succeeding with his third-string quarterback. And they’re all actually combating for second fiddle to Sirianni.
Sirianni’s offensive system regarded so good with out Hurts, it’s the very best case Mahomes has for NFL MVP. Insert Chad Henne as Kansas City’s beginning quarterback. There isn’t any shot he’s anyplace as efficient as Minshew was yesterday. Hurts has been extremely beneficial in 2022, however Mahomes being persistently pristine shouldn’t distract from the truth that he’s other-worldly. Eight quarters is loads of time for issues to alter within the NFL. Yes, the Eagles and 49ers have playoff spots locked up. San Francisco already gained its division. You can wager on Sirianni and Bosa taking dwelling league-wide honors not going away.