The Midseason Awards Farce: Why the Current Frontrunners Haven't Earned a Thing

Let’s get one thing straight: the midseason awards race is a farce. We are nine weeks into the 2026 NFL season, and the pundits are already carving names into granite. It is a premature exercise in hype that ignores the fundamental truth of professional football—nothing matters until the postseason push. Until these 'frontrunners' prove they can maintain this production under the crushing weight of January football, these accolades are nothing more than placeholders.

Take a look at the MVP conversation. As Sports Illustrated first reported, Joe Burrow is currently the leader in the clubhouse. Eva Geitheim notes that Burrow has been on an 'absolute tear,' racking up 18 total touchdowns over his last four games. He currently leads the NFL in touchdown passes and completion percentage (74%), with 2,386 yards and 23 touchdowns to his name. While the Bengals sit at 6–2 and are eyeing the AFC North lead, we have seen this movie before. Geitheim herself admits that Burrow put up prolific numbers in 2024, leading the league in both passing yards and touchdowns, yet he wasn't a top MVP candidate because the Bengals failed to make the playoffs. The lesson here is simple: stats without a deep run are empty calories.

Then you have the sudden ascent of Jordan Love. Mike Kadlick of Sports Illustrated has catapulted Love to the top of his list following a performance against the Patriots that he described as a 'magnum opus.' Love completed 79.3% of his passes for 372 yards and four touchdowns, finishing with a 153.2 passer rating in a 45–27 victory. Love currently leads the NFL in passing yards with 2,618 and has steered the Packers to four wins in their last five games. He is joined in the conversation by Buffalo's Josh Allen, who has the Bills tied for the league's best record at 7–1. But let's be honest: a few hot weeks and a strong September do not make an MVP. These quarterbacks are operating in a vacuum of midseason optimism.

Moving to the Offensive Player of the Year (OPOY) race, the hype is even more disconnected from reality. Mike Kadlick points to Jahmyr Gibbs of the Detroit Lions, who currently tops the league in rushing yards per game (105.9) and all-purpose yards (1,132), while tying Kenneth Walker III for the most total touchdowns with 11. Gibbs has been a focal point for a Lions offense that ranks fifth in points per game (27.8) and fourth in yards per game (379.8). He has 27 gains of 10-plus yards and 55 first-down conversions, along with 285 receiving yards on 34 catches.

On the other side of the coin, Eva Geitheim is banking on Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks. While he recently struggled with only 51 yards against the Arizona Cardinals, Smith-Njigba still leads all receivers with nine touchdowns and 1,036 yards. He is currently pacing for 1,956 yards—just shy of Calvin Johnson's record of 1,964. While Geitheim suggests this could earn him a second consecutive OPOY trophy, I suggest we wait. The OPOY award has largely become a trophy for the best non-quarterback since 2018, but as Geitheim notes, the production of Burrow and Love could easily merit consideration if they don't win MVP. When the criteria for an award are this fluid, the current 'favorites' are essentially guessing.

Finally, we have the Defensive Player of the Year race. Mike Kadlick identifies Will Anderson Jr. of the Houston Texans as the 'odds-on favorite' because he leads the NFL with 9.5 sacks through nine weeks. But look at the landscape. The Texans, along with the Rams, Eagles, and Chargers, have been disappointments this year, all sitting outside the playoff picture. Can a player truly be the league's most valuable defensive force when his team is sliding toward irrelevance?

We are seeing a season of surprises. The New York Giants and Cleveland Browns, once considered candidates for the 2027 No. 1 overall pick, have instead emerged as winning teams. This volatility is exactly why midseason awards are a joke. The league is in flux. The 'stars' of Week 9 are often the footnotes of Week 18.

If you want to talk about who is playing well in October, fine. But if you want to talk about the MVP, OPOY, or DPOY, keep your trophies in the box. Until these players lead their teams through the gauntlet of the playoffs, they aren't frontrunners—they're just lucky to be healthy in October.