Welcome in to the 2019 NFL MVP Watch, where I will be taking a look around the landscape of the MVP race in the NFL this season. This is pretty much the same thing as my Heisman Watch, sooooo…like, do I want to spend a lot of time on an intro?
Shit, I guess I will for the uninitiated – each week, I will count down the five most MVP-worthy performances of the week and offer up my reasoning for each ranking. You finish first, you get five points. Second is four, so on and so forth. I will keep the season point totals going at the bottom of the article and at the end of the season, whoever has the most points gets the 2019 SoBros Network NFL MVP “honors.”
2019 NFL MVP WATCH: WEEK 8
5. Deshaun Watson, Texans QB – Tied with Matthew Stafford and Aaron Rodgers for the second most touchdown passes on the season with 16 (only behind Russell Wilson’s 17), Watson appears to be the pulse of this feisty, competitive Texans team. He went 27/39 for 279 yards and three touchdowns in the big win over the Oakland Raiders. Time to put him in the legitimate MVP conversation.
4. Mike Evans, Buccaneers WR – The Bucs lost, sure, but holy shit – Evans went off for 198 yards and two touchdowns on 11 catches against the Titans. He and Chris Godwin make up two of the top six leaders in receiving yards this season, and Evans is specifically approaching ‘all-time great Buccaneer’ territory. The guy deserves a nod as one of the most under-appreciated players in the game.
3. Aaron Jones, Packers RB – I don’t think you could find a back who’s better suited for that Matt LaFleur offense. Jones is having a career year – he had nine total touchdowns in 2018. He currently has 11 in half of 2019. Jones only had 67 rushing yards against the Chiefs, but his seven catches went for 159 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
2. Matthew Stafford, Lions QB – Hard to imagine where the Detroit Lions would be without Stafford. The guy’s been perennially underrated his entire career. Granted it was against a bad New York Giants defense, but Stafford had a nice day in the Lions’ 31-26 win, going 25/32 for 342 yards, three touchdowns, a pick and a passer rating that was good for second on the week (129.4). He’s also tied with Watson and Rodgers with the 2nd most touchdown passes on the season.
1. Aaron Rodgers, Packers QB – Things are starting to really click for the Packers. They’re in the midst of a four-game win streak, but they’re beating some pretty good teams as apart of it. Rodgers, specifically, has been downright spectacular. That touchdown pass to Jones in the back corner of the end zone was other-worldly. You just don’t see that type of shit every day. He finished the game 23/33 for 305 yards, and three touchdowns. If he gets hot, this team could be unstoppable.
UPDATED NFL MVP WATCH POINTS STANDINGS
23. Nick Chubb, Chase Edmonds, Sammy Watkins – 1
19. Sam Darnold, Ezekiel Elliott, Leonard Fournette, Josh Jacobs – 2
15. Shaq Barrett, Mike Evans, Julio Jones, Marlon Mack – 3
10. J.C. Jackson, Aaron Jones, Daniel Jones, Kyler Murray, Matthew Stafford – 4
8. Dalvin Cook, Deshaun Watson – 5
7. Dak Prescott – 6
6. Kirk Cousins – 7
5. Lamar Jackson – 9
3. Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson – 10
2. Patrick Mahomes – 12
1. Christian McCaffrey – 13
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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