Week 5: NFL Awards and Playoff Picture

Welcome back readers of FantasyCPR! In this article, we will discuss the current award winners and the playoff outlook for the rest of the NFL season. Remember all of this is the results through Week 5 of the NFL season.

Let’s get started:

NFL MVP Award:

The Favorite: Patrick Mahomes, KC 

Mahomes has been the best quarterback in football to start this season, plus the Chiefs are undefeated. Nobody saw this coming, Mahomes has 16 total touchdowns (14 passing and 2 rushing) with two turnovers through the first five weeks of the NFL season. Mahomes will slow down, but he is the real deal and the Chiefs are going to compete with every team they play as long as Mahomes is at the helm. I’m finding Mahomes, 3-1 as the favorite to win the MVP award, it’s a good bet to triple your money.

Long Shot: Todd Gurley, LAR

Nobody at this point of the season is going to come completely out of nowhere and win the MVP award, but if you’re looking for better odds for the MVP award this would be my pick. If Mahomes struggles at any point of the season, Gurley is going to be there scoop up the award. Gurley leads all running backs in touchdowns and is second in the NFL in rushing yards. Plus, the Rams are undefeated and Gurley has managed to score 9 touchdowns in just five weeks of action. Gurley is priced all the way down at 14/1 on most sites.

Defensive Player of the Year

Khalil Mack, CHI

This is the clearest lock of the season, I don’t think anyone else even has a shot at this point. Mack has been as dominate as they come, so far he has five sacks, one touchdown and four forced fumbles. Mack is a force to be reckoned with a that is not going to change at any point this season. I would not bet on anyone else for this award because I believe it is already locked up.

Coach of the Year:

The Favorite: Andy Reid/ Sean McVay

Both coaches are undefeated, I would set this award at a tie right now. McVay would be my pick to win this award so far though. McVay has the Rams undefeated and I think they have a real chance to go undefeated throughout the rest of the regular season. Seattle battled hard with the Rams in an attempt to beat them, but McVay had faith in his offense to go for it on fourth down and win the game.

Long Shot: Matt Nagy, CHI 

Matt Nagy has the Bears sitting at 3-1 through the first five weeks. I did not see this coming, and they’ve had some easy games. However, all you can do is play who on your schedule and the Bears are beating their schedule. If the Bears get into the playoffs and the Rams don’t go undefeated, it’s likely that Nagy is going to win coach of the year.

Through Week 5 Playoff Picture

NFC  (Right Now)

1.) Rams 5-0

2.) Saints 4-1

3.) Bears 3-1

4.) Redskins 2-2

5.) Panthers 3-1

6.) Buccaneers 2-2

Whats going to change: 

Diving into the NFC Playoff Picture there are going to be some changes coming. The Rams, Saints, Panthers are going to make the playoffs this year but I think the rest of the three spots are up for grabs still. I do not trust the Bears, Redskins and the Buccaneers to hold onto a playoff spot.

The Bears are the best team of the three but I still don’t trust Mitchell Tisbusky at quarterback for this team. They’re the real deal but I think he may hamper them down of the stretch of the season. Plus, Green Bay, Minnesota and the Lions are all within reach of the playoffs.

On the other hand, I don’t believe the Buccaneers or the Redskins are good enough to hold on to their playoff spots. Teams will get hot and bump them out of the picture.

Teams that are out, that are going to get in

Nobody is officially eliminated as of yet, but I will go ahead and cross out, the Falcons, Giants, 49ers, Cardinals, and Cowboys. I simply just don’t like the way these teams have looked. They’ve looked really bad and I do not see a way that these teams can turn their season around. I’m burying the Cowboys early but I do not like their offense.

Green Bay Packers are going to make the playoffs if they can get healthy at receiver. Green Bay needs to get Cobb back from injury and once they do I think they can compete for a playoff spot. Aaron Rodgers looks a little beat up, but even hurt I think as long as he is on the field, this team is going to compete for a playoff spot.

Philadelphia Eagles is a team that I’m going to shocked if they do not make the postseason. This team is loaded on offense, even with losing Jay Ajayi, they got their quarterback back from ACL surgery. This team is 2-3, I’m a little worried about them, but I have to believe that Carson Wentz is going to get going at some point this season.

AFC: (Current Playoff Picture)

1.) Chiefs 5-0

2.) Bengals 4-1

3.) Patriots 3-2

4.) Titans 3-2

5.) Chargers 3-2

6.) Dolphins 3-2

What’s going to change?

In the AFC, I’m going to lock in the top-3 seeds as playoff seeds. Bengals were winning without their best running back, Patriots were struggling due to lack of weapons and they have weapons now and the Chiefs are undefeated and should coast into the playoffs. Obviously the seeding is going to change still, that’s why they play the games. However, the other three spots are completely in the air.

The Chargers I can’t trust at all, they have kicker issues, they have played a soft schedule, they always seems to just not have it all put together. The Dolphins are pretenders, I think they aren’t a playoff team and I don’t even think they’re close. They have a chance to finish this season 6-10. I like what I’ve seen from the Titans, however, they’re young and could see their chances slip away.

Teams that are out, that are going to get in

I’m going to eliminate some teams from playoff consideration because I believe their chances are close to zero percent chance to make the playoffs. The Colts, Raiders, Broncos, Jets, Bills are all out of playoff consideration. That leaves 11 teams battling for the 6 playoff spots.

Jacksonville Jaguars are going to be in the playoffs, if they can get Leonard Fournette healthy. They have the best defense in the NFL, a serviceable quarterback in Blake Bortles and when healthy they have one of the best running backs in the NFL. I love the Jaguars to make a postseason push.

Houston Texans I want to believe this team is a better team than they have been. The last two weeks they’ve been handed victories in overtime but I want to believe that DeShaun Watson is better than this and I think their defense has potential to be deadly. They just haven’t put it together yet. They’re on the outside looking in, have to win a lot of tough games or it’s likely that Bill O’Brien is going to lose his job.

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