Christmas Eve sees most of the NFL’s leagues played on Saturdays, and it’s freezing in most stadiums. Recovering from frostbite while opening presents as a family is clearly a necessary evil for some. In two of the three stadiums where fans couldn’t help but shudder, two of the NFL’s big prizes were decided. No matter what happened in the last two weeks of the season. And the Vikings and Giants aside, both add another one-pointed game to their resumes. Those are the Bay Area and Lone Star State matches that apply here.
Nick Sirianni will be your NFL Coach of the Year, even though his team lost its second game of the season yesterday. Nick Bosa will be the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year after the Unstoppable Commanders rocked both Taylor Heinicke and Carson Wentz in 2023. The 49ers’ defense had seven tackles, two coming in. the ball, one catch and five pressure in victory over Washington. Not to mention, he fired Wentz when trying to convert 2 points that wouldn’t count towards his stats. If anything, Bosa’s performance should be considered for the tournament’s overall MVP, even though Vegas insists it’s a two-man race, two midfielders between Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts. It has become a quarterback award, much like the Heisman Trophy and NFL MVP should have gone to Cooper Kupp last season. The unfair case will probably never be made for Bosa.
Bosa has 17.5 bags during the season and it’s not a runaway from the Patriots outside of full-back Matt Judon, who has 15.5. Given the way the Patriots have played, there’s no way the league gives him serious consideration. Judon can be great, but the NFL has made it clear that if your team sucks, you can’t get away with being lousy. And so there are some sucks eliminate Judon. Bosa is also third in the league for pressure in midfield (51), despite missing a game earlier this season. You can bet Bosa will add into both impressive totals if he hadn’t missed the Week 6 game against the Falcons.
Competitors with Bosa for Dattack Pletter Y . classears almost pale in comparison to yesterday’s matches. Sirianni’s chances become a bit more opaque, mainly due to competition. Yes, the Eagles lost just one game all season before Saturday against the Commanders. It would have been a one-point loss if it hadn’t been for the Miracle of Music City-style finish that would have led to Washington’s defense falling at the end of the game. Philadelphia did enough in a one-point loss to the Dallas team 11-4 without Hurts behind center to prove Sirianni’s case would be too strong.
With Gardner Minshew in midfield, Philadelphia’s attack didn’t miss many beats. Hurts’ elusiveness as an attack class of Eagles has disappeared, but birds still won 34 points against an above average Cowboys defense. Sirianni is an attack-minded coach and always has been. Criticism as to why his defense dropped 40 points is valid, but it needs to be balanced against the fact that one of the leads for the tournament’s MVP is not wearing a uniform at AT&T Stadium and keep up with the Cowboys.
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The names of Andy Reid and Sean McDermott will be in the coach of the year chats. Giants rookie head coach Brian Daboll, too, because of how quickly he became Big Blue return to a knockout team that only a psychopath could predict pre-season. Kevin O’Connell did great in Minnesota, but there’s a resume similar to that of Sirianniand obviously weaker in direct comparison. Kyle Shanahan is a black horse after succeeding with his third quarterback. And they’re all really fighting for second place ahead of Sirianni.
Sirianni’s offensive system looks great without Hurts, which is the best case scenario Mahomes has for NFL MVP. Insert Chad Henne as Kansas City’s starting quarterback. None of his shots were as effective as Minshew’s shot yesterday. Hurts were incredibly valuable in 2022, but always pristine Mahomes shouldn’t be distracted from the fact that he’s in another world. Eight quarters is a lot of time for things to change in the NFL. Yes, the Eagles and 49ers have locked playoff slots. San Francisco won in its division. You can bet Sirianni and Bosa will win the all-league title at home.
