Week 5 concluded, with the exception of one game this Sunday. This is the time of the season where avid football fans flock to the awards given out at the end of the season. Because it's week 5, fans have seen a decent sample size of nearly everyone, so it's about time to start speculating as to who takes home the hardware at the end of the season.
Quarter Season Super Bowl Prediction:
In the preseason, my prediction was the New England Patriots vs the Arizona Cardinals for Super Bowl 51 with the Cardinals hoisting the Lombardi for the first time in franchise history. However, that has since changed. The AFC representative in the Super Bowl will be the Pittsburgh Steelers. After a tough 34-3 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, they rebounded with a 43-14 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in prime time two weeks ago, and a 31-13 win over the New York Jets this past week proving their worth as the current team to beat in the AFC. Antonio Brown has proved no one can cover him. Leveon Bell has shown that he's unstoppable and the Steelers offense follows a philosophy of "bend don't break," which wins you games when your offense keeps scoring as well. The NFC representative? Certainly it's no longer the 1-3 Arizona Cardinals. The NFC representative in Super Bowl 51 will be the Minnesota Vikings. It may be early to put the Vikings on a pedestal but they look better in every aspect of the game with Sam Bradford under center. Kyle Rudolph and Stefon Diggs have been playing better than ever. Even with Adrian Peterson injured, the offense is thriving. And the defense is most definitely a top 5 unit. Linval Joseph was held back by the Giants offensive line in the form of triple teaming, Anthony Barr has been a star as usual, Xavier Rhodes shut down Odell Beckham and Kelvin Benjamin and Harrison Smith is top 10 at his position.
Quarter Season MVP:
And the winner is...
Matt Ryan, quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons. In the first five games of the season, Matt Ryan has managed to amass 1,740 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. He has posted a 121.6 passer rating which amazingly above average and well over his career high. Matt Ryan is playing at the top of his game right now and no one has proved more that they deserve the MVP award than he has. He looks like the top 10 quarterback that everyone has continually said he was. It's taken him since 2008 but he's finally living up to his top 10 potential and there is no doubt that he's currently the MVP front runner after the first quarter of the season. He's currently played great games against two of the best defenses in the NFL in the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos and has proven that the Atlanta Falcons could be a NFC superpower this season.
Quarter Season Offensive Rookie of the Year:
And the winner is...
Ezekiel Elliott, running back for the Dallas Cowboys. This pick is a shoe-in. Ezekiel Elliott leads the league in rushing yards with 412 and has 3 rushing touchdowns across 4 games. He's averaging 103 yards per game which is incredible for a rookie running back. He's this year's Todd Gurley and I'd be surprised if anyone emerges in these next 13 weeks as a better candidate. He's running like he's been doing this for years. He's not making mistakes that you see other rookie running backs make and there is no chance at this point in the season that he is not a shoe-in for offensive rookie of the year.
Quarter Season Defensive Rookie of the Year:
And the winner is...
Deion Jones, middle linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons. Normally, this award doesn't go to someone drafted as late as the 52nd overall pick but there is not many standout candidates for this award this early. Someone will emerge late into the season as always but Deion Jones, because of his 90 yard pick-six has the award to win at the moment.That's all it takes currently and as the season trucks on, a new player will emerge as a shoe-in for defensive rookie of the year.
Quarter Season Comeback Player of the Year
And the winner is...
Andrew Luck, quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts. Despite the Colts terrible team and record, the terrible part is their defense. We saw in the Colts victory over the Chicago Bears that Luck is not the issue. He has passed for 1,469 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions and has posted a passer rating of 95.4. This is a massive improvement from last season where there is speculation that Luck played the entire season injured. A healthy Luck is a Luck that plays well and he has returned from his injury, back and better than last year.
NOTE: THESE ARE PREDICTIONS MADE DIRECTLY AFTER THE SUNDAY OF WEEK 5 AND WILL MOST LIKELY CHANGE AS THE SEASON PROGRESSES
