NFL 2021 Mid-Season Awards

While yes, there is still an entire second half of the season to play, awards are fun, so let us give out some midseason awards for the NFL. We will have the basic awards such as the MVP and Coach of the Year, but we will have team awards as well. Let us analyze each choice, why they were picked, and if they can keep it up.

Most Surprising Team: Cincinnati Bengals

People are writing them off after a couple bad losses, but you cannot discount the strides that the Bengals have made in 2021. The Bengals currently sit at 5-4 and are coming off a bye. They will play the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 11 for a chance to move to 6-4. After suffering a major knee injury, QB Joe Burrow has come back strong in year two of his NFL career. Burrow is completing 68% of his passes with 20 TD and 11 INT. The interceptions are high, but that’s expected from a young quarterback. Cincy is also 11th in the NFL in scoring defense, which is the biggest surprise of this team. The Bengals are right in the thick of things and will have a chance to prove their worth over their last eight games.

Most Disappointing Team: Cleveland Browns

Coming into the season, the Cleveland Browns had sky-high expectations. Now, sitting at 5-5, Cleveland does not even have a clear path to the playoffs. Yes, there have been injuries, but so does every team. Not every team has a QB that has three separate injuries though. Outside of his injuries, Baker Mayfield has been inconsistent this season, which is relative to the 5-5 record. Outside of Mayfield, Cleveland has been playing sloppy football, as they are near the bottom of the league in penalty yards. The defense has been hit or miss as well, making them very unpredictable. Despite this, the Browns play the winless Lions this week, in which they should win. If they can win that game, Cleveland will have consecutive games against the Baltimore Ravens, their division rival, sandwiching a bye week. Not all hope is lost, but the Browns need to start playing more consistent football.

Best Team: Tennessee Titans

It does not seem to matter who is on the field, the Titans just keep winning games. They have lost both starting corners, their number two wide receiver, and oh by the way, the man who was going to shatter Eric Dickerson’s rushing record, HB Derrick Henry, to injuries. Despite this, the Titans just keep on winning. They have won six in a row and are 7-0 against teams that made the playoffs last season, proving their 8-2 record is not a fluke. QB Ryan Tannehill is playing solid football, but the story is the team as a whole. This is a credit to not only the players but head coach Mike Vrabel as well. Their next game is against the Houston Texans, who are 1-8 and have lost eight straight games. The Titans are in cruise control right now and are finding ways to win every single week.

OPOY: Cooper Kupp, WR Los Angeles Rams

When you are on pace to break multiple records, you are probably going to win some sort of an award. In this case, it is WR Cooper Kupp of the Rams, your midseason Offensive Player of the Year. In 10 games this season, Kupp already has 85 catches for 1,141 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 114.1 yards per game. All four of these statistics lead the league. Kupp’s catch % is also at a career-high 73.3% and is averaging 8.5 receptions per game. There is a real argument that he is in the MVP race and rightfully so. There is still an entire half a season left for football, but as of right now, Kupp looks like he is playing a video game in real life.

DPOY: Myles Garrett, DE Cleveland Browns

This was an extremely close call, but with T.J. Watt, unfortunately, getting injured, it left me no choice but to take DE Myles Garrett as the midseason Defensive Player of the Year. In 10 games, Garrett has 13 sacks, and 13 tackles for loss, both league-leading numbers. He also has 34 total tackles, and two passes defensed. Garrett has yet to strip-sack a quarterback, which is unusual. Despite this, he is still getting to the quarterback at impressive rates. Garrett is second in pass rush win rate for edge defenders at 27%. He trails only his teammate, DE Jadeveon Clowney, who has a 28%-win rate. Garrett has an outside shot to break the single-season sack record but will need to continue to produce on a consistent level to get to such a prestigious number.

OROY: Mac Jones, QB New England Patriots

It has not looked the most glamorous, but as the weeks go on, QB Mac Jones looks better and better every week. Jones is leading the way of a four-game winning streak, including a dominant win over the Cleveland Browns, in which he threw three touchdowns. Overall, Jones is 6-4 while completing 69% of his passes, tossing 13 TDs to 7 INTs. On the four-game winning streak though, Jones has 6 TDs to only 1 INT. The Patriots have a real opportunity to make the playoffs after everyone deemed them as “average”. Right now, they look far from average, and Jones has a lot to do with that.

DROY: Micah Parsons, LB Dallas Cowboys 

This was another close call, as the rookie class has shown a ton of talent this season. By a slight edge over numerous candidates, LB Micah Parsons wins the midseason Defensive Rookie of the Year award. The reason I felt he should win it to this point is because of how versatile he has been for Dallas. Parsons is second on the team in tackles and first in sacks. Those are stats for basically two positions, and he is at the top of the ranks for both on his team. He can also slide inside to help stop the run but has been most effective on the outside. Parsons has been a game-changer for the Cowboys defense and is already one of their best defensive players.

Coach of the Year: Mike Vrabel, Tennessee Titans

Between Mike Vrabel and Kliff Kingsbury, this was a close call. After further review, the midseason Coach of the Year goes to Vrabel. The reason, what Vrabel does not have against what Kingsbury has. While yes, QB Kyler Murray has missed a couple of games with an ankle issue, the Cardinals have lost a game without their best player. Since HB Derrick Henry went down, the Titans never missed a beat. Vrabel has lost multiple starters on his roster and is still finding ways to get the best out of every player. He is not a defensive guru or an offensive mastermind, but rather just a culture setter and a coach that knows how to win. It sounds cliché, but nobody knows why the Titans win, other than seeing the result at the end of the game. That falls on coaching and how great of a job Vrabel is doing right now with the Titans.

MVP: Dak Prescott, QB Dallas Cowboys

For the first time in a long time, there is no clear favorite for the NFL MVP. You can argue HB Derrick Henry could have won it if he did not get injured, but here we are. Through the midway point of the season, the NFL MVP is QB Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys. Prescott is having the best season of his career through the team’s first nine games. Despite missing a game due to a calf injury, Prescott is 6-2, completing 70.3% of his passes, 20 passing touchdowns, and only five interceptions. He leads the league in passer rating at 110.8 and adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) at 8.22. Add all this up to the fact that the Cowboys are 7-2 and poised to win the division in dominating fashion, there is no reason why Prescott cannot win this award. There are still many games to be played and some candidates that could have easily been in this spot, but for now, Prescott is the MVP.

Stats from profootballreference.com

Stats from espn.com

Writer

-By: Richie Dordas