Palsgrove’s Points: NFL Season

The NFL season officially hit its halfway point Sunday. Because of that, I wanted to play a fun little game where I rank my top five midseason picks for the MVP in the league. This isn’t purely based on stats or records, but those will always be a factor. Let’s get to it.

Lamar Jackson — QB, Baltimore Ravens

Lamar Jackson is a two-time and currently reigning NFL MVP, and at the moment, he’s playing better football than he did in both of those seasons. After an uber-dominant win over the oddity of the Denver Broncos, the Ravens boast a lovely 6-3 record. Two of those losses came in trap games against the Browns and the Raiders, and the other came on the first game of the season against the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Jackson, through those first nine games, is seventh in the league in passing yards and 15th in rushing yards. When he was named the league MVP last season, he was 22nd and 15th in those statistics, respectively. In a written column, it’s hard to describe how good he’s been on the field and how many plays of pure wizardry he’s pulled out of nowhere. To put it simply, Jackson has cemented himself as one of the best two quarterbacks in the NFL along with Patrick Mahomes — and he might not be No. 2. 

Derrick Henry — RB, Baltimore Ravens

I understand that this might seem like a backtrack. I just now discussed how the MVP should be given to the most important player on one of the league’s premier teams. By putting Derrick Henry and Jackson as one and two on this list, I’m contradicting my own point. But this duo is the exception to my rule. As their roster currently stands, the Ravens are a Greek temple built on two central pillars. One is Jackson, and the other is Henry. After joining the Ravens in the offseason, “King” Henry now leads the NFL in rushing yards (by a wide margin), rushing touchdowns and carries, and he can lay claim to the longest run of the season. 

There are two ultra, super-duper, elite running backs in the NFL, and Henry is one of them. The Ravens’ entire offensive scheme revolves around his ability to turn their running lanes into scoring opportunities. He still struggles to create them when the defense doesn’t allow him to build any momentum, but Henry’s performance this season has been something to behold. He’s tallied 11 of the Ravens’ 33 total touchdowns (he’s caught two TD passes), which means he claims 33% of his team’s offensive output, and he somehow deserves more than that. 

Josh Allen — QB, Buffalo Bills

I saw a tweet Sunday morning from ESPN’s Ben Solak, which said, “We can never show the youth Josh Allen film. He’s going to ruin the next generation of quarterbacks.” Allen plays with a veracity and recklessness that only he can play with, and somehow, that recklessness has given him an MVP-caliber season. Allen has a newly acquired Amari Cooper and an underwhelming James Cook. Allen has to do it all himself, and he continues to do so again and again. 

Jared Goff — QB, Detroit Lions

Now, again, I’m going to seem to contradict myself here. I just discussed how Goff has a litany of weapons available to him, which diminishes his case for MVP. And it does. But Goff is also playing with the efficiency of a Marine sniper. Right now, he’s leading the league in completion percentage with 74.1%, which is outlandishly good. In his most recent outing against Green Bay, Goff completed the ball 18 times out of his 22 attempts. The week prior, he went 12 for 15. The week before that, he went 22 for 25. The offense around him is good, but his borderline perfection is making it elite and is one of the main reasons the Lions are 7-1. 

Saquon Barkley — RB, Philadelphia Eagles

Last season, my Philadelphia Eagles had one of the worst collapses in recent memory, and instead of making wholesale changes, the team’s leadership chose to run it back with Head Coach Nick Sirianni. The Eagles made some good additions in the draft, but the real gem of their offseason was the addition of Saquon Barkley. In his first eight games with the Eagles, Barkley is second in the NFL in rushing yards and tied for 11th in rushing touchdowns, even with Hurts stealing the goal-line touches. His superstardom seems to be the only thing holding the Eagles together, even with all of Sirianni’s antics. 

Palsgrove is the sports editor for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on X.