Week 9 NFL Power Rankings: Team MVPs!

 We are about to hit the mid-season mark! It feels like it was just the other day that the Bills were facing off against the Rams and now we are 50% of the way to the post-season. Today when we list each team's ranking from a week ago, we will also mention their ranking from week 1 to show how things have really changed from the start of the year! Today we are also doing mid-season MVPs!

1. Philadelphia Eagles (7-0)
Last week: #1 
Week 1: #5

Mid-season MVP: WR AJ Brown. The reason Philly remains the top team in the league and the only unbeaten left is due to the amount of additions they made in the off-season to improve. No addition has proved to be bigger than acquiring superstar WR AJ Brown from Tennessee. Despite being a run-first offense, Jalen Hurts and Brown have had instant chemistry and look like one of the best QB/WR duos in all of the game. Brown went for over 150 yards and 3 TDs this past week in a dominant Philly win over the Steelers.

2. Buffalo Bills (6-1)
Last week: #2
Week 1: #1

Mid-season MVP: QB Josh Allen. Not much of a surprise here. Not only has Allen been the Bills' MVP, he has arguably been the MVP of the league thus far! Allen has accounted for more than 90% of the team's TDs which is crazier than you might think. The Bills have been a wagon behind his cannon of an arm and it should continue into the second half. 

3. Kansas City Chiefs (5-2)
Last week: #3
Week 1: #2

Mid-season MVP: QB Patrick Mahomes. Also not much of a surprise, Mahomes is the Chiefs' MVP. Right there will Allen, Mahomes is again right in the MVP race as he should be with his crazy throws and TD:INT ratio from the gods. The Chiefs have also been downright unstoppable minus a close loss to the Bills and a fluke loss to Indy early on in the year.

4. Dallas Cowboys (6-2)
Last week: #6 +
Week 1: #28

Mid-season MVP: OLB Micah Parsons. While he's quieted down a tad of late, Micah Parsons remains in the driver's seat for DPOY and is the anchor of Dallas' top 5 ranked defense. We all always think of the Cowboys for their high-powered offense, but the shift to winning football games with their elite defense has been what has this team rolling so far this season. Even when Parsons isn't in on a play, he is, because his presence all over the field creates opportunities for his defense. 

5. Minnesota Vikings (6-1)
Last week: #5
Week 1: #7

Mid-season MVP: OLB Za'Darius Smith. What's crazy about this Minnesota team is how they have not been truly carried by any singular superstar to get to this blazing 6-1 start (despite the fact that they also do have multiple superstars on their team). While Justin Jefferson feels like the default common answer here, he's been somewhat hit or miss this year. Za'Darius Smith has been a constant heat-seeking missile for this defense and it showed in the biggest way yet on Sunday when he had 3 sacks. Smith has been the game-changer for this defense. 

6. Miami Dolphins (5-3)
Last week: #12 +
Week 1: #11

Mid-season MVP: WR Tyreek Hill. It must feel good for Hill to prove to the world that he was not just a product of Andy Reid's system in KC. This is genuinely the best we've seen Hill play yet in his whole career. He has over 970 receiving yards through 8 weeks and is currently on pace to break Calvin Johnson's receiving record. Right now I'd say Hill is the front-runner for OPOY as well. Miami has dealt with its fair share of injuries at the QB position, but Hill has dominated no matter who was under center. Now that Tua is back and dealing, these Dolphins are back to being elite!

7. Seattle Seahawks (5-3)
Last week: #9 +
Week 1: #19

Mid-season MVP: QB Geno Smith. This continues to be one of the best feel-good stories in NFL history. Geno Smith has just proved every single person wrong as he has ascended into elite QB territory in his 10th NFL season, after never really being a quality starter before. The Seahawks are rolling behind his arm and a suddenly resurgent defense as well. Against the 6-1 (at the time) Giants on Sunday, Smith threw for over 240 yards and 2 TDs with 0 picks and looked incredible once again. Seattle is probably a playoff contender with Smith at the helm.

8. Baltimore Ravens (5-3)
Last week: #8
Week 1: #8

Mid-season MVP: QB Lamar Jackson. While he has had some down weeks, Lamar is still definitely the mid-season MVP of this squad. We cannot forget his amazing first few week stretch and it looks like he is back on the rise after a great game against Tampa on TNF. He has some bad games here and there, but don't get it twisted, Jackson is the reason the Ravens lead the AFC North at the halfway mark and will likely hold onto it with FPI's easiest remaining schedule in the league. 

9. San Francisco 49ers (4-4)
Last week: #14 +
Week 1: #18

Mid-season MVP: DE Nick Bosa. While I think Christian McCaffrey will overtake him (especially after his unreal game this past week), Bosa has been the overall MVP through the mid-season. He is a sack-machine and creates for other teammates even when he is not in there himself. While SF has a lot of duds, when they win, they win big. This team still could be an NFC Super Bowl contender. 

10. Tennessee Titans (5-2)
Last week: #11 +
Week 1: #23

Mid-season MVP: RB Derrick Henry. One of the most obvious ones in the league. When Derrick Henry is on the field, he is the Titans' entire offense. On Sunday against the Texans, Henry ran for a casual 219 yards and 2 scores as rookie QB Malik Willis threw the ball under 5 times in the whole second half while Tennessee cruised to victory. Henry is simply inevitable and is truly going to go down as an all-time great. These Titans are still contenders and look like the obvious answer to winning the AFC South. 

11. Cincinnati Bengals (4-4)
Last week: #4 -
Week 1: #6

Mid-season MVP: WR Ja'Marr Chase. It is pretty simple. If Ja'Marr Chase plays, and plays well, the Bengals win. If he doesn't play well, or play at all, the Bengals lose. What's tough for this team is the fact that they will be without him for the next 3-7 weeks due to a hip injury. It didn't start out well for them as they got absolutely worked by Cleveland on primetime this week. Everyone knows the Bengals are good, but to click like we know they can, they need Chase in the lineup.

12. New York Giants (6-2)
Last week: #7 -
Week 1: #22

Mid-season MVP: RB Saquon Barkley. The Giants finally fell back down to earth, like I anticipated. Their MVP has easily been RB Saquon Barkley who is the probable Comeback Player of the Year. When he is rolling the Giant offense is hard to stop. However, Seattle keyed him and in NY's offense sputtered big time. These Giants might be frauds if their only means for production is through Barkley and a hit or miss defense. Thankfully for them, they have an easy schedule coming up down the stretch with their BYE week sprinkled in.

13. New England Patriots (4-4)
Last week: #21 +
Week 1: #25

Mid-season MVP: DE Matt Judon. Judon is tied for the most sacks in football with a whopping 8.5 at just the half-way mark. He has been one of the biggest reasons why the Patriot defense remains one of the best in football. While they cannot figure out how to consistently win big like we see from them every few weeks, we know this team has the personnel to be playoff contenders. Judon's pressure allows for the rest of the defense to play loosely and the unproven secondary to flourish.

14. New York Jets (5-3)
Last week: #10 -
Week 1: #32

Mid-season MVP: CB Sauce Gardner. Not a bad ranking at the mid-season for the squad I had sitting at #32 after one week. The reason for the rise for the Jets this season has been this damn defense. They are looking stout at pretty much every spot and none more than CB, which is led by superstar rookie Sauce Gardner. Gardner has not been afraid of any WR yet, and he is playing some of the stickiest coverage you will ever see. His 12 pass breakups is tied for first in the NFL with last year's INT leader Trevon Diggs. Not bad for a rookie, eh?

15. Atlanta Falcons (4-4)
Last week: #26 +
Week 1: #30

Mid-season MVP: HC Arthur Smith. Might be a little bit of a reach here, but I genuinely don't know who else to put. Somehow, some way, these Falcons sit in sole possession of first place in the NFC North through 8 weeks. No one on their team has been particularly spectacular yet they just find a way to win some games and come out on top. This is a testament to HC Arthur Smith who has built a great culture in Atlanta and has his offense working even with a journeyman QB starting and a top 5 ranked rushing attack using the likes of 5th round rookies and a converted WR.

16. Los Angeles Chargers (4-3)
Last week: #15 -
Week 1: #4

Mid-season MVP: RB Austin Ekeler. The Chargers were my pre-season Super Bowl pick and a top 5 ranked team following week 1. Now they find themselves right in the middle of a 32 team league. Nothing has seemed to go completely right all year for this team, excluded star RB Austin Ekeler who is one of the most involved players in the game with over 80 rushes and over 50 catches. With a slew on injuries on offense (and defense too), LA needs to continue to work Ekeler until the wheels fall off.

17. Washington Commanders (4-4)
Last week: #19 +
Week 1: #17

Mid-season MVP: QB Taylor Heinicke. Washington has only turned to Heinicke for their last two games, yet they are 2-0 in those contests and look like a completely different team with him at the helm. Both Heinicke and Carson Wentz play like there is no tomorrow, however Heinicke does this in a slightly smarter way, leading to less turnovers and crazy hijynx. At 4-4 in a weak NFC, the Commanders have a shot to make it back to the post-season this year if Heinicke can continue to work his magic. 

18. New Orleans Saints (3-5)
Last week: #27 +
Week 1: #12

Mid-season MVP: RB Alvin Kamara. How the hell can you rate this Saints team? Every time I am ready to throw in the towel on them they go crazy and win. That was the case on Sunday when they 24-0'd the favored Raiders behind Kamara's 3 TD game. When Kamara plays the Saints are a tough tough task to stop on offense, but when he's out (which is often) they simply do not show up to play. At 3-5 the Saints somehow are just 1 game out of first place in the NFC South and if they can continue to play like they just did they will have a good shot at getting into the playoffs and hosting a game with the South title. 

19. Los Angeles Rams (3-4)
Last week: #16 -
Week 1: #9

Mid-season MVP: WR Cooper Kupp. Kupp's weekly success has become a given at this point. He's so good we just come to expect it with him every single week. What we have also come to expect every week is for the Rams to play like crap. They look awful, seriously. This team is lost and I don't know what can be done at this point.

20. Cleveland Browns (3-5)
Last week: #23 +
Week 1: #20

Mid-season MVP: RB Nick Chubb. While Chubb cooled down a little lately, he has still been the MVP for this impossible to predict Cleveland team. The Browns are either complete duds or can hang with the best of the best on any given Sunday. With the looming return of Deshaun Watson in a month, Cleveland has many star players stepping up to keep this record afloat for Watson to resume. Amari Cooper, Myles Garrett, and David Njoku are some other guys who deserve recognition here. 

21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5)
Last week: #18 -
Week 1: #3

Mid-season MVP: CB Jamel Dean. Not to take anything away from the breakout campaign that Dean has seen in 2022, but that is how you know these Bucs have struggled. Usually Brady would be the MVP of his team, or even Mike Evans...Chris Godwin....Vita Vea...Devin White...?! Nope. The Bucs have not been able to figure anything out and it has resulted in CB2 Jamel Dean looking like their best overall player. However, since the South is so weak, Brady and co. are not even close to out of it yet. They will probably figure it out and find a way to be hosting a playoff game in January.

22. Arizona Cardinals (3-5)
Last week: #17 -
Week 1: #24

Mid-season MVP: WR DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins has played just two games for the Cardinals this season (due to his suspension) but has looked unreal in both. He already has nearly 300 yards and 2 TDs as his connection with Kyler Murray looks better than ever before. Still, the Cardinal defense is so hit or miss and the rest of the offense has been slightly in shambles. With a tough schedule on tap, the Cardinals will need to pull off some upset victories in order to find their way into a playoff spot for the second year in a row.

23. Las Vegas Raiders (2-5)
Last week: #13 -
Week 1: #13

Mid-season MVP: RB Josh Jacobs. Despite the recent tear Josh Jacobs had been on lately, he fell back to earth on Sunday as the Raiders couldn't muster a single point against the Saints and fell to 2-5. This is looking increasingly like a one-and-done situation for HC Josh McDaniels who keeps seeing his team lose in embarrassing fashion. At 2-5, another loss would all but put their playoff hopes to bed.

24. Green Bay Packers (3-5)
Last week: #20 -
Week 1: #14

Mid-season MVP: OLB Rashan Gary. The one year Green Bay looks like they have it all figured out on the defensive side of the ball, their offense has gone to the dirt. Aaron Rodgers is still a great QB, but not even he can make do with this WR core. Rashan Gary has developed into a superstar edge rusher on the defensive side of the ball at the very least. He is firmly inside the top 10 for sacks with 7 on the year. Green Bay continues to lose and even in a weak NFC, their chances for making the post-season are looking increasingly tiny by the week. The Viking lead over them in the NFC North is now over 3 games.

25. Indianapolis Colts (3-4-1)
Last week: #22 -
Week 1: #10

Mid-season MVP: WR Michael Pittman Jr. Had to go with a bit of a reach for this one. The Colts really do not have an MVP at this point. They have simply been an abysmal disappointment of a team to this point in the year. Michael Pittman is one of the best WRs in the league and he has showed it when he can, but there are many points where he simply cannot get the ball due to the awful QB play in Indy. The Colts look like they are headed for a fire-sale in the off-season, which cannot come soon enough for them.

26. Chicago Bears (3-5)
Last week: #24 -
Week 1: #27

Mid-season MVP: QB Justin Fields. While Chicago's season has been messy like we all expected, something really great has come of it of late. Justin Fields has begun to look much improved and like he can really be the franchise QB for this team. While I doubt that there are manny more wins on the schedule for these Bears coming up, the future with Fields (and newly acquired WR Chase Claypool) is bright.

27. Denver Broncos (3-5)
Last week: #28 +
Week 1: #15

Mid-season MVP: CB Patrick Surtain II. All hell would have broken loose had the Broncos lost AGAIN, this time to the lowly Jags. Thankfully for their own sake, they won, barely. In what has been a colossal disappointment of a season thus far in Denver, second-year CB Patrick Surtain II has been a major breakout. He has looked like an easy top CB in the NFL with his lockdown coverage skill all season long. Even through all the pain of this season, at least Denver knows they have a guy like Surtain to bank on for the foreseeable future on defense. 

28. Carolina Panthers (2-6)
Last week: #30 +
Week 1: #31

Mid-season MVP: CB Jaycee Horn. Another lost team with a star second year corner. While the Panthers have been slightly better since firing HC Matt Rhule, they are not good by any means. One of very few highlights this year for this team has been Horn, who leads all CBs in mnay advanced coverage statistics. Carolina too has a lockdown CB to bank on for the future!

29. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6)
Last week: #25 -
Week 1: #29

Mid-season MVP: RB Travis Etienne. The early returns for this team were good, but since then it has all gone downhill. Trevor Lawrence has not taken the massive strides many in Jacksonville had hoped, the defense (which started the season on fire) has fallen off, even Christian Kirk who looked worthy of that mega-deal has struggled of late. The only plausible MVP for this team is second-year RB Travis Etienne who flourished with James Robinson in town, and tore it up completely in his first career start with Robinson shipped off to the Jets. Etienne shows me shades of Alvin Kamara and D'Andre Swift. Jacksonville has an emerging superstar on their hands with him at the very least.

30. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-6)
Last week: #31 +
Week 1: #16

Mid-season MVP: WR George Pickens. Despite the disaster season it has been in Pittsburgh, it appears they have at least hit big time on another rookie WR. George Pickens has played so well that it made stud Chase Claypool expendable (traded to Bears on Tuesday). Pickens has come on of late and has over 330 yards and a score, along with having made some of the craziest catches we have seen all season. The Steelers have another star receiver in the making.

31. Detroit Lions (1-6)
Last week: #32 +
Week 1: #21

Mid-season MVP: RB Jamaal Williams. Even though stars Amon-Ra St. Brown and D'Andre Swift are clearly better players than Williams, neither have been consistently healthy. Williams has been a model of consistency, even for this bad of a team. He's top 15 in overall rush yards on the season and SECOND in rushing TDs with 8 (only behind Nick Chubb). As the Lions head towards an off-season of major change, it appears they have their 1-2 punch of the future figured out with Williams and Swift.

32. Houston Texans (1-5-1)
Last week: #29 -
Week 1: #26

Mid-season MVP: RB Dameon Pierce. I have been pounding the drum on this guy ever since the pre-season, and he has completely lived up to the hype. Even on an awful Texan team, Pierce has found a way to stand-out each and every week. The unheralded 4th-round pick has been a bowling ball for this offense, breaking more tackles than any RB in the league heading into Houston's bye just a few weeks back. Even with Houston looking awful at everything, Pierce continues to shine.

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JKNFLFOOTBALL Week 8 Honors

Offensive Player of the Week: Derrick Henry, Running Back, Tennessee Titans
Statline: 32 carries for 219 yards, 2 TDs rushing

Defensive Player of the Week: Za'Darius Smith, Edge Rusher, Minnesota Vikings
Statline: 7 total tackles, 3 sacks, 1 pass deflection, 4 tackles for loss

Special Teams Player of the Week: Will Dissly, Tight End/Punt Coverage, Seattle Seahawks
Statline: 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery on 2 separate plays in punt coverage

Rookie of the Week: Isaiah Likely, Tight End, Baltimore Ravens
Statline: 6 receptions for 77 yards, 1 TD receiving

Team of the Week: Seattle Seahawks (5-3)
Beat New York Giants 27-13

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Week 9 Official Game Picks
Last Week's Record: 10-5
2022 Season Overall: 61-45-1

Eagles over Texans (34-13)
Patriots over Colts (22-16)
Lions over Packers (35-32)
Falcons over Chargers (29-28)
Bills over Jets (36-16)
Commanders over Vikings (27-20)
Bengals over Panthers (30-20)
Raiders over Jaguars (29-20)
Dolphins over Bears (28-17)
Seahawks over Cardinals (27-25)
Rams over Buccaneers (22-19)
Chiefs over Titans (36-28)
Ravens over Saints (28-24)