While it seems like yesterday that preseason games were kicking off, the 2015 NFL season is now entering Week 9. With eight weeks in the books and the ninth kicking off tonight, the season is already half over.
Here is each team’s most valuable player as the NFL hits the midseason mark:
AFC East
New England Patriots: QB Tom Brady
Brady is on pace to throw over 5,500 yards, with 46 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He leads the NFL in passer rating while also quarterbacking the league’s top scoring offense. If the season ended today, Brady would be a runaway winner for league MVP.
New York Jets: RB Chris Ivory
The Jets are 4-0 when Ivory rushes for over 50 yards and 0-2 when he doesn’t. The bruising back ranks sixth in the NFL in yards per game (86.3) and fourth in rushing touchdowns (four).
Miami Dolphins: WR Jarvis Landry
Landry has done a little bit of everything for the Dolphins. He’s on pace for 96 catches and over 1,000 receiving yards, but he also has a 22-yard touchdown run, a 69-yard punt return for a touchdown and a 50-yard kick return. The former LSU star is a big play machine.
Buffalo Bills: QB Tyrod Taylor
The Bills won three of their first five games with Taylor under center but zero since he injured his knee. Taylor completed over 70 percent of his passes with a passer rating of 103.6 to start the season. He’ll finally return in Week 9. The Bills hope he can help snap the team’s current two-game losing streak.
AFC North
Cincinnati Bengals: QB Andy Dalton
Dalton ranks third in yards per attempt, fourth in passer rating and fifth in passing touchdowns for the undefeated Bengals. Amazing as it sounds, if he keeps producing and Cincinnati keeps winning, Dalton will be a legitimate candidate for league MVP.
Pittsburgh Steelers: WR Antonio Brown/DL Cameron Hayward
Brown is the lone triplet to stay healthy for every game this season. Despite losing Ben Roethlisberger for four games, the All-Pro receiver is still on pace for over 100 catches and nearly 1,500 yards. On defense, Hayward has transformed into one of the NFL’s most effective 3-4 linemen. Only J.J. Watt and Muhammad Wilkerson have more quarterback disruptions in 2015.
Cleveland Browns: TE Gary Barnidge
The 30-year-old, come-out-of-nowhere tight end is currently tied with Travis Kelce and Rob Gronkowski for the position lead with 40 receptions, and only Gronk has more touchdown catches than Barnidge’s six. If he somehow keeps up his ridiculous pace, Barnidge will finish with almost 1,200 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. What a story.
Baltimore Ravens: WR Steve Smith Sr.
The sting of Smith’s season-ending injury still hasn’t dissipated. Football just isn’t fair. Through eight games, Smith was on pace for almost 1,400 receiving yards. It’s now possible he’ll never play another down in the NFL. A great career like his can’t end like this, can it?
AFC South
Indianapolis Colts: QB Matt Hasselbeck
This seems harsh, but why not Hasselbeck? The Colts won both games he started, and Hasselbeck has a higher completion percentage, yard-per-attempt average and passer rating than Andrew Luck. Indy has to roll with Luck through his funk, but are we 100 percent sure the Colts would have won games against the Jaguars and Texans with him under center?
Houston Texans: WR DeAndre Hopkins/DL J.J. Watt
J.J. Watt (league-leading 8.5 sacks) is still the NFL’s premier defensive force, but Hopkins needs a mention here, too. The 23-year-old receiver (how is he still only 23?) is currently on pace for 132 receptions and over 1,700 yards. Only one player has ever caught more than 130 passes in a single season, and only five have hit 1,700.
Jacksonville Jaguars: WR Allen Robinson
Only Larry Fitzgerald, Rob Gronkowski and Odell Beckham Jr. have more touchdown receptions than Robinson, who is also on pace for over 1,300 receiving yards. The second-year receiver is averaging 17.2 yards per catch, with at least one catch of over 20 yards in every game this season.
Tennessee Titans: DL Jurell Casey
Casey does it all for the Tennessee defense. He’s second on the team in sacks and tackles for losses and third in passes defended. Signed to a sizable deal back in 2014, Casey continues to provide big returns on the Titans’ investment.
AFC West
Denver Broncos: OLB Von Miller/DeMarcus Ware
The two edge pass-rushers are the driving force for Denver’s top defense. Miller and Ware have combined for 9.5 sacks and 64 quarterback disruptions through eight games, while the Broncos defense has 17 takeaways and a league-high 29 sacks.
Oakland Raiders: QB Derek Carr
Oakland’s second-year quarterback is leading a franchise revival. He currently ranks fifth in the NFL in both touchdown passes (15) and passer rating (105.7). Meanwhile, the Raiders are 4-3 and in position of a playoff spot in the AFC. A game-changing quarterback can make all the difference.
Kansas City Chiefs: OLB Justin Houston
Houston has 5.5 sacks, which puts him on pace for well below his 22.0-sack mark from a year ago. But don’t let the volume numbers fool you, because Houston is still making life difficult for every offense he faces. Don’t sleep on his Kansas City defense; the Chiefs have held their last four opponents to under 20 points.
San Diego Chargers: QB Philip Rivers
No quarterback has dealt with more injuries or offensive turmoil in 2015 than Rivers. Yet here we are, eight weeks into the season, and Rivers leads the NFL in passing yards. In fact, he’s on pace to break the all-time record for passing yards in a season. He’s doing it while playing behind an always changing offensive line and without several of his top weapons. Rivers is the most under-appreciated quarterback in football.
NFC East
New York Giants: WR Odell Beckham Jr.
His numbers are a little inflated after catching three touchdowns in the 52-49 shootout in New Orleans last Sunday. Still, Beckham has three 100-yard games and five games out of eight with at least one touchdown. He’s on pace for 100 catches, over 1,300 yards and 14 scores. That would be a nice encore of his scintillating rookie season.
Washington Redskins: DL Chris Baker
The fourth-year pro out of Hampton has a team-high 3.5 sacks and five tackles for losses, plus two forced fumbles and two passes defended. Tough to ask for much more from a 3-4 down lineman. Thanks to Baker’s emergence, Washington is tough up front on defense.
Philadelphia Eagles: DL Fletcher Cox
While all the attention goes to Chip Kelly and the Eagles offense, the Philadelphia defense has kept the team afloat in 2015. Cox, a former first-round pick, leads the vastly improved group. He has five sacks, three forced fumbles, three tackles for losses and two fumble recoveries.
Dallas Cowboys: LB Sean Lee
It’s been a tough year in Big D, especially on the offensive side of the football. Most years, the Cowboys’ MVP would be a pick between Tony Romo and Dez Bryant. This season, the nod goes to Lee, who has a team-high 61 tackles, plus a sack and one interception.
NFC North
Green Bay Packers: QB Aaron Rodgers
James Jones and his six touchdowns received some consideration, but in the end, the whole operation in Green Bay is dependent on Rodgers. Despite his no-show in Denver last Sunday night, Rodgers is still second in the NFL in passer rating and fifth in passing touchdowns. He now needs to pull the Packers out of their current tailspin on offense.
Minnesota Vikings: RB Adrian Peterson
Rookie Stefon Diggs has made a late charge, but Peterson is still the motor that runs the Vikings. He’s third in the NFL in rushing yards, and Minnesota is a perfect 3-0 when he tops 100 yards in a game. At his current pace, Peterson will approach 1,500 rushing yards. The Vikings will likely be playoff bound if he ends up anywhere close to that number.
Chicago Bears: OLB Pernell McPhee
Quietly, McPhee has been one of the NFL’s best free-agent signings of the last year. Now a full-time player for the Bears, McPhee has five sacks and three tackles for losses, plus one interception and one blocked kick. Chicago needed impact players on defense. General manager Ryan Pace found one in McPhee.
Detroit Lions: WR Calvin Johnson
The worst team in football made it difficult to find a true MVP. But after eight games, it probably has to be Johnson. He’s currently 10th in receptions (48) and ninth in receiving yards (659). Megatron is starting to heat up, with 337 yards and two touchdowns over his last two games.
NFC South
Carolina Panthers: QB Cam Newton/CB Josh Norman
What Newton has done on offense despite his limited supporting cast is nothing short of remarkable. His top receiver not named Greg Olsen is Ted Ginn, yet Newton is on pace for over 4,000 total yards and 30 scores. On defense, Norman has brought the talent and swagger needed to complete the Carolina defense. His four interceptions—which include two pick-sixes—rank second in the NFL.
Atlanta Falcons: RB Devonta Freeman
Julio Jones is having a monster season, but so is Freeman. Through eight weeks, he leads the NFL in rushing yards (709) and touchdowns (nine). The second-year back is on pace for over 1,400 yards and 18 touchdowns. No player has hit both of those marks in a single season since 2005.
New Orleans Saints: QB Drew Brees
The demise of Drew Brees has been greatly exaggerated. After a slow start and a shoulder injury, Brees has led the Saints to three straight wins. He’s completed at least 75 percent of his passes in three games this season, and he effortlessly tossed seven touchdowns against the Giants last Sunday. The Saints are back, but only because Brees has returned to his old productive self.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: RB Doug Martin
Through seven games, Martin is on pace for over 1,700 yards of total offense. He’s gained at least 70 yards in five of the seven, with a three-game span in which he averaged over 150 yards per contest. The Buccaneers are giving Martin 21 touches per game in 2015.
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals: QB Carson Palmer
Palmer is one of two quarterbacks with at least 20 touchdown passes this season. Of those 20, seven have gone to resurgent receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Palmer is also third in passer rating and fourth in passing yards. The 6-2 Cardinals rank second in points scored this season, largely thanks to Palmer’s successful return from knee surgery.
St. Louis Rams: RB Todd Gurley
Gurley has started only four NFL games and already there is talk about him being the best back in football. It’s probably not premature, as Gurley’s four straight 100-yard games have him in the top five for rushing yards this season. He also ranks first in the NFL in yards per carry, rushing yards per game and runs over 20 yards.
Seattle Seahawks: DE Michael Bennett
Few defensive players in the NFL are as consistently disruptive as Bennett, who leads the Seahawks with 6.5 sacks and eight tackles for losses. After a difficult start, Seattle is now allowing only 17.5 points per game. Bennett and his ability to cause havoc up front remains a big reason why.
San Francisco 49ers: OLB Aaron Lynch
San Francisco’s 22-year-old edge rusher is one of the lone bright spots for the 49ers this season. Lynch leads the team with 5.0 sacks and five tackles for losses. He looks like he’ll be a defensive building block for this franchise’s looming rebuilding period.