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 13
5. Jared Goff, Rams QB – The Rams desperately needed a “get right” game, and that’s exactly what Sunday’s game against the Cardinals proved to be. Goff led the NFL in passing yards this week with 424 (with two touchdowns), and suddenly the Rams find themselves just a game back in the wild card race.
4. Aaron Rodgers, Packers QB – When he’s on, he can still go with the best of ’em. Against the Giants, Rodgers went 21/33 for 243 yards and FOUR touchdowns in the snow in New Jersey. If the Packers can find that consistently, they’ll be a threat in the NFC playoffs.
3. Derrick Henry, Titans RB – Man, D-Henber came early this year. The Titans are committing to getting Henry carries, and it’s paying off. Against the rival Colts, Henry got 26 carries and turned it into 149 yards and a touchdown. It’s the third straight week with at least 149 yards. In his last three games, Henry has amassed 496 yards and five touchdowns. Sick. He’s now third in the NFL in rushing yards with 1,140, and if he keeps this up, he has a real shot of claiming the 2019 rushing title.
2. Lamar Jackson, Ravens QB – Another week, another stellar performance from Jackson, who at this point has to be the favorite to win MVP. Against the 49ers, in what could’ve been a preview of the Super Bowl, Jackson went 14/23 for 105 yards and a touchdown (one of his lowest rated games of the year), but he tacked on 101 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown to boot. You can’t stop him. You can only hope to contain him. This was the 4th time this season that Jackson eclipsed 100 yards on the ground. Now, he’s only 23 yards shy of 1,000 on the season.
1. Deshaun Watson, Texans QB – Prime time game, legendary opponent, having to hold serve in the AFC South – the stage wasn’t too big at all for the third year Texans quarterback. Deshaun Watson was the highest rated passer this week (140.7) against the best defense in the NFL. Just gaudy – he went 18/25 for 235 yards, and three touchdown passes. He even caught a touchdown reception off a pass from DeAndre Hopkins. The dude is one of the brightest young quarterbacks in the league.
UPDATED NFL MVP WATCH POINTS STANDINGS
30. Nick Chubb, Chase Edmonds, Jared Goff, Joe Schobert, Sammy Watkins – 1
23. Drew Brees, Sam Darnold, Ezekiel Elliott, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Leonard Fournette, Jimmy Garoppolo, Chris Godwin – 2
18. Shaq Barrett, Mike Evans, Julio Jones, Marlon Mack, Michael Thomas – 3
11. J.C. Jackson, Josh Jacobs, Aaron Jones, Daniel Jones, Kyler Murray, Matthew Stafford, Ryan Tannehill – 4
10. Dalvin Cook – 6
9. Kirk Cousins – 7
8. Derrick Henry – 9
6. Dak Prescott, Deshaun Watson – 10
4. Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers – 12
3. Christian McCaffrey – 16
2. Russell Wilson – 20
1. Lamar Jackson – 31
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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