With the regular season of the NFL officially over, it’s time to take a look at all the NFL awards that will be given to those players who deserve it. We will have to wait until Saturday, Feb. 2nd to find out the official result of these NFL awards, but we at Fourth Quarter Sports would like to give you a sneak peek of who we think will win each of the major NFL awards.
But first, congratulations are to the 2019 National Champion Clemson Tigers. You have proven to the world once again why you are the best team in the country. They became the first team ever in the College Football Playoff to finish a season with a perfect 15-0 record.
We also have to congratulate Cullen Jekel for winning the weekly predictions award! We can also congratulate Jon Geib for having the highest percentage (78) of games right. Cullen finished third in percentage with 67 behind Jon and Dennis Olmsted (72). Aman Huda finished just four games behind Cullen in the overall predictions, which is outstanding for a guy who thought he didn’t know much about football.
If you’re wondering where the rest of us finished, well… Regarding both percentage and overall record, I finished last. I had a few weeks of upset picks that never got upset, but I am hoping to have better results in the playoff version of these predictions, which you can see here.
Here are the final results for the regular season:
Cullen: 158-81-1 (67%)
Aman: 154-85-1 (64%)
Joel: 150-89-1 (63%)
Adam: 150-89-1 (63%)
Mickayeen: 149-90-1 (62%)
Rahim: 139-100-1 (58%)
Kevin: 101-62 (62%)
Josh: 90-45 (67%)
Dan: 83-52 (61%)
Christan: 68-40 (63%)
Dennis: 35-13 (72%)
Jon: 25-7 (78%)
Now it’s on to the big awards, the awards that we have been waiting for! Those NFL awards are: Most Valuable Player, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Offensive Rookie of the Year, Defensive Rookie of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year and Coach of the Year. So let’s find out who we all think will win! We’ll start with one of the most prestigious NFL awards.
“Kansas City Chiefs Patrick Mahomes” by Jack Kurzenknabe is licensed under Public Domain
NFL Awards
Most Valuable Player
Rahim’s: QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Jon’s: QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Dan’s: QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Aman’s: QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Joel’s: QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Adam’s: QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
When we started this season, and everyone gave their own predictions for all the awards which can be seen here, no one thought it was going to be Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Especially not after he only played one game all season the year prior as a rookie. He has definitely surprised us all with the numbers he put up this season. Is 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns not enough for you to give him the award? It really only came down to him and New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees. Mahomes has over 1,000 yards and 18 passing touchdowns more than Brees. He’s pretty much a lock to win MVP since he was already named First Team All-Pro at QB. In other words, the NFL has already named him the MVP winner.
Offensive Player of the Year
Rahim’s: QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Jon’s: QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Dan’s: RB Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams
Aman’s: QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City
Joel’s: QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Adam’s: QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
With Mahomes winning the MVP, the next award belongs to Drew Brees. Just look at what he has done with the Saints’ offense. He led them to the best record in the NFL! This was one of the best seasons of his career. He actually has fewer interceptions than Mahomes and set a record for completion percentage with 74.4 percent. Brees will be the MVP runner-up, so it’s only fitting he be the one to win this award. The only other player we see winning this award is RB Todd Gurley, but he missed two games and didn’t even lead the league in rushing. If Drew Brees really is in close contention with Mahomes for MVP, this award has to go to him.
Defensive Player of the Year
Rahim’s: LB Khalil Mack, Chicago Bears
Jon’s: DT Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams
Dan’s: LB Khalil Mack, Chicago Bears
Aman’s: LB Khalil Mack, Chicago Bears
Joel’s: DT Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams
Adam’s: DT Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams
Aaron Donald or Khalil Mack? Who do you pick? We’re split 50-50. We’ll break it down and see where each of them are in the statistics. Donald got paid this offseason and still put up great numbers! His best number is 20.5 sacks, and he has obviously made an impact on the defensive front this year for the Rams. His sacks were the most ever by a defensive tackle, and he was only two short of the season sack record. He recorded 9.5 sacks more than last year. For Mack, it’s simple! Get traded, then be the biggest thing on your team! Mack helped change the Bears’ defense around. He took the Bears from 5-11 and being last to the NFC North, to going 12-4 and winning the division. Let’s not forget he has done everything possible for the Bears this season, including sacks, interceptions, forced fumbles and touchdowns!
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Rahim’s: QB Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns
Jon’s: RB Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
Dan’s: QB Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns
Aman’s: QB Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns
Joel’s: QB Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns
Adam’s: RB Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
This was close between Barkley and Mayfield. Some might give it to Barkley based off his numbers on a bad team. He had 91 receptions as a rookie running back, and he is the real deal! If this award were to come down to player stats, it’d be Barkley. Barkley had 2,000 plus yards from scrimmage this season. Unfortunately, his team finished 5-11.
For Mayfield, it was all about making an impact and helping this team win games. That’s precisely what Mayfield did. He led the previously 0-16 Cleveland Browns team to a seven-win season. Not only did he help the Browns win, but he looked great doing. Mayfield and the Browns weren’t that far from having a playoff spot. They finished 7-8-1 and 9th in the AFC standings. Let’s also not forget that his head coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley both got fired. I’ll admit, I doubted Mayfield’s ability, but anytime you take a team with a 4-44 record over the past three seasons and make them somewhat relevant, that’s an automatic lock!
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Rahim’s: LB Darius Leonard, Indianapolis Colts
Jon’s: S Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers
Dan’s: LB Darius Leonard, Indianapolis Colts
Aman’s: LB Darius Leonard, Indianapolis Colts
Joel’s: LB Darius Leonard, Indianapolis Colts
Adam’s: S Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers
James was just named a first-team All-Pro safety as a rookie. He played all over the field and finished with 105 tackles, three-and-a-half sacks and three interceptions. James is the best rookie on the best team, and he has easily stepped in to the starting lineup affecting the game in sacks, picks and 70 tackles.
Leonard had the greater impact on this team. The Chargers had a pretty good defense last season, but the Colts had one of the worst. This season the Colts have drastically improved defensively, in large part to the play of Darius Leonard. He totaled 163 tackles, seven sacks and two interceptions for the Colts this season. Those 163 tackles led the entire NFL.
So will it be James or Leonard?
Comeback Player of the Year
Rahim’s: QB Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
Jon’s: QB Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
Dan’s: QB Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
Aman’s: QB Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
Joel’s: QB Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
Adam’s: QB Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
Andrew Luck is the clear cut Comeback Player of the Year. He played all 16 games after not playing a single game last year. In the 16 games he played this season, Luck had the highest passer rating of his career. In addition to that, Luck had the second most passing yards and second most TD passes of his career. Then there’s the fact that Luck led his team to a 10-6 record and a playoff spot. It’s been an incredible year for Luck, as he returned from injury and helped turn a 4-12 Colts team in 2017 to a 10-6 playoff team in 2018. There’s no doubting this one! This is one of the more obvious picks among the NFL awards.
Coach of the Year:
Rahim’s: Matt Nagy, Chicago Bears
Jon’s: Matt Nagy, Chicago Bears
Dan’s: Matt Nagy, Chicago Bears
Aman’s: Matt Nagy, Chicago Bears
Joel’s: Matt Nagy, Chicago Bears
Adam’s: Matt Nagy, Chicago Bears
Last season the Bears were 5-11 and last in the NFC North. In their first season under Matt Nagy, the Bears went 12-4, won the NFC North and almost got themselves a first-round bye in the NFC. If that’s not enough, Nagy helped second year QB Mitch Trubisky make huge strides this season. Trubisky’s passer rating went from 77.5 to 95.4.
Then there’s the defense. Nagy was able to put together, one of, if not the best defense in the NFL. He changed this team in all phases. The addition of Khalil Mack helped the Bears’ turnaround, but the addition of Nagy has turned Mitchell Trubisky into the franchise quarterback the Bears certainly hoped he would be.
Let us know your opinions on who wins the NFL awards, as we have plenty of time left before they are announced. Comment your winner for each of the these NFL awards!
4thquarter17.wordpress.com 