As most of you know, the NFL regular season is a little more than halfway done. In case you’ve missed what’s been going on, here are some things to watch out for the rest of the season:

Best Team

As the only undefeated team in the league, the Atlanta Falcons are obviously the best team as of now. Their latest victory was against the struggling Dallas Cowboys as they won 19-13 to improve to 8-0. Their next game is at New Orleans Sunday at 1:00 p.m., where the Saints just came off a Monday night victory against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Falcons are a well-balanced team that has the ability to win close games with Matt Ryan as their quarterback. He has the third-best QB rating in the league with a 103 rating, right behind Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers (not bad company). No individual Falcons player has put up great numbers statistically, but as a team, they pose a big threat.

Worst Team

Recently, the Kansas City Chiefs have been the butt of bad jokes due to their horrible performance. They have a quarterback controversy between Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn (they’re trying to figure out which quarterback stinks the least), and their defense is the fourth worst as far as giving up points. Their offense is so bad (third-worst at scoring in the league) that their head coach Romeo Crennel gave his defensive coordinator duties to someone else, just so he can help out on offense. The worst statistic about this team is their turnover differential (-20). Their starting running back, Jamaal Charles, has been the beacon of hope for this team, being in the top ten in rushing yards, and the Chiefs are not alone as the worst team. The Jacksonville Jaguars have the same record as the Chiefs (1-7). The Jaguars are also six games behind in their division, while the Chiefs are only four games behind in theirs. It’s a tight race between these two hot competitors for the number one overall pick in next year’s draft!

Best Offensive Player

Didn’t Adrian Peterson tear his ACL last year? Doesn’t look like it! The Minnesota Vikings running back is leading the NFL in rushing yards, yards per carry and carries of 20 yards or more. He also has six rushing touchdowns to add to that. However, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green is having a sophomore surge with his league-leading eight receiving touchdowns and sixth-most receiving yards with 735, right behind Wes Welker. Also, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is having a stellar season as usual. Arguably the best quarterback in the league, Rodgers leads the NFL with 25 touchdown passes and only five interceptions. Not only that, but the Packers are on a four-game win streak trying to keep up with their division rival Chicago Bears. Don’t forget, Rodgers did have that great game against the Houston Texans earlier in the season, tying a franchise record with six touchdown passes in a single game. All very good candidates, but if Adrian Peterson keeps having the season the way that it is, he could reclaim that title as the best running back in the league.

Best Defensive Player

This award should go to every single player on Chicago’s defense. They’ve only lost one game and they lead the league in defensive touchdowns. Middle linebacker and team captain Brian Urlacher is having another solid season, outside linebacker Lance Briggs has two interceptions returned back for touchdowns, cornerback Tim Jennings is leading the league in interceptions with six, their other cornerback, Charles Tillman, is leading the league in forced fumbles with seven (most of them coming from last week’s game against the Tennessee Titans), and defensive end Julius Peppers and defensive tackle Henry Melton have five sacks each. However, since the award is only going to one player, it should go to Tillman. In addition to the forced fumbles, he also has two interceptions that he has run back for touchdowns. If it’s going to be someone that’s not playing for Chicago, then it will either go to Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (who leads the NFL with 10.5 sacks) or Arizona Cardinals’ linebacker Daryl Washington (who has eight sacks, 75 tackles, and two forced fumbles). Nevertheless, it’s safe to say that someone on that Chicago defense will win the award by the end of the year.

Rookie of the Year

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III and Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin are both electrifying players and make big plays every week. However, the award should go to the number one overall pick in this year’s draft, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. He’s currently tied for fourth in passing yards with his predecessor Peyton Manning and he has ten touchdown passes in eight games. He also broke Cam Newton’s rookie passing-yards-in-a-single-game record last week against the Miami Dolphins with 433 yards. All that aside, the statistic that should get him rookie of the year should be his wins. With a Colts team that had only two wins last year, Luck has managed to snag five wins in his eight starts at quarterback. Without a decent running game and a good defense, he has managed to keep the Colts in the playoff race. If the Colts do end up making the playoffs this year (presumably as a wild card behind the division-leading Houston Texans), it will be because they have Luck on their side.

 

Most Valuable Player

This should be no surprise. Denver Broncos’ quarterback Peyton Manning is at it again. Even though he has just recovered from four different neck surgeries that kept him out of last year’s season, Manning is putting up numbers that’s helping his team win games. He pulled off the biggest comeback of his career against San Diego on Monday Night football back on Oct. 15 and he pulled off another comeback against Cincinnati last week (thanks to the performance of wide receiver Eric Decker). He has got his Broncos in first place in the AFC West, just ahead of the San Diego Chargers, and he’s doing it with the best quarterback rating in the NFL (108.6). His 20 touchdown passes and six interceptions midway through the season shows that there’s still more to come from the old veteran, and he’s still making his case for the best quarterback of all time.

 

So in a nutshell, that’s the midseason review of the NFL this year. As of now, the teams are pushing for entry into the playoffs with the dream of hoisting that Lombardi trophy on their minds. The season is not over, and plenty of teams have a chance to fulfill that dream. So check up on your fantasy football league, and reserve some tables at Buffalo Wild Wings for Sunday, because the NFL is only halfway done.