The MVP & COTY Locks

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Today, we dive into the NFL’s MVP and COTY race because to me, it’s a no brainer.

The question of who the NFL MVP is this year seems to have been boiled down to Drew Brees, Patrick Mahomes, and maybe Andrew Luck. But in a year of no unbeatable teams, maybe it’s time to visit the defensive side of the ball, as we’ve seen Goff and Brees and Mahomes kind of slide the past couple of weeks. The top 3 defenses in the league, according to ESPN are the Ravens, Bills (how the fuck), and Bears - in that order.

Now let’s set some ramifications for this argument. Your team has to make the playoffs to be considered for this award (seeing as how the Bills are doomed and the Ravens aren’t locked in the playoffs yet, we’ll rule them out). This player is the face of his franchise and the best player on their team. For this, look no further than Chicago’s very own, Khalil Mack. You may be thinking, woah now, the last defensive player to win the MVP was Lawrence Taylor in 1986 when he set the then single season sack record of 20.5 sacks (the record is now 22.5 and held by Michael Strahan circa 2001). However, Mack has transformed a top 10 defense on a 5-11 team to a top 3 (arguably #1) defense on a current 10-4 team who has a good chance to finish 12-4 and maybe, just maybe steal the No.2 seed from the Rams (I won’t get into the playoffs until another day, sorry Chargers).

Mack has transformed this defense, franchise, and city in a span of almost 4 months. Going into this season, Bears fans were skeptical entering this year; having their 3rd head coach in 5 years and after watching Alshon Jeffery (all love and much deserved; for those that don’t remember he started his first 5 seasons with Chicago from 2012 to 2016) win a Super Bowl, they thought about what could’ve been a few years ago (fuck you Jay Cutler, bad quarterbacks have plagued the Bears). Mack may have less sacks than Aaron Donald, his main competition for the Defensive Player of the Year award, but ever since the Rams lost to the Bears, the secret is out on how to shut down No. 99: double teams. Mack, being an outside edge rusher, rarely deals with “double teams” that aren’t a chip from a tight end or running back. Mack may have 4 less sacks than Donald (albeit Mack missed 2 games to nurse an ankle injury) but here’s the stat line through Week 15:

Donald: 48 tkls, 16.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles

Mack: 42 tkls, 12.5 sacks, 6 forcfum, 1 int

So what makes Mack so special to win the MVP?

His status. Mack was, before his signing, and still is the most feared edge rusher in all of football. With blazing fast speed, perfect technique, and the strength of a goddamn Mack truck (get it?), Mack has made a living putting 320 pound tackles on their ass with a one arm bull rush (I’m scoffing at you Nate Solder, the leagues highest paid offensive tackle). He’s not a one trick pony either, and no I’m not gonna rant and rave about the Mack Back Sack (although that was pretty damn impressive; for those that didn’t see, Khalil literally sacked Aaron Rodgers by backing into him through a block). Mack has injected confidence and fearlessness into the entire organization. His teammates on the defensive side of the ball play with swagger and a chip on their shoulder, something we Bears fans haven’t seen since the Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, and Charles “Peanut” Tillman days of the mid 2000s.

The emergence of Akiem Hicks, Kyle Fuller, second year Eddie Jackson (who leads the league in INTs and defensive TDs), Roquan Smith, and even Leonard Floyd have all helped to bolster this stacked defense. But, it never would’ve been possible without Mack’s signing and valuable play since. Donald’s teammates have been seemingly absent, even though he’s the biggest target to double teams in the opposing team’s offense, none of them can make the play.

I played offensive line for my entire 12 year football career, including 4 at the college level. I know what it’s like to have a winnable offense and lackluster defense. You get nervous and play scared because you don’t want to mess up and make your defense trot back out to stop the other team. It’s nerve racking because you are the only source of points. But you add a guy like Khalil Mack to the picture, and everyone comes ready to play. Chicago is the most recent of teams to come from worst to first in their division In the span of one year. And that goes beyond Mack’s status and play. It extends to the mad hatter play caller in Head Coach Matt Nagy.

The Chicago Bears also have the league’s Coach of the Year in Matt Nagy. Like Sean McVay recently did in LA, Nagy has helped this organization turn a dark page in its long and rich history. Nagy has tied the Bears franchise record of most wins in his first season as head coach. Who did he tie? The Bears founder, and one of the NFL’s founding fathers, Papa Bear George Stanley Halas (10 wins). Back then, they only played 12 games but this is good company for Nagy to be in nonetheless. Nagy has invigorated his team with confidence and shown that football is still fun. I mean come on, every offensive lineman’s dream is to catch a fade in the end zone from a goal line play. I’ve been on a couple statistically bad teams in my life while playing football. That doesn’t mean the players were bad, but the joy of just playing the game was lost as well as respect to the coaches and yada yada. And that’s what was happening in Chicago since Lovie Smith left the organization after taking them to Super Bowl 41. (Why would you ever let Lovie Smith go. Who the hell was Marc Trestman, and why did the Bears brass think Canadian football success would translate to the NFL. John Fox sucked and is lucky he had Peyton Manning to win him a ring while they were both in Denver.)

Nagy has steered this team into the right. After the shocking Week 1 loss to a zooted Aaron Rodgers in prime time after blowing a 20-0 lead, the city of Chicago was shaky; we had signed Mack and expected immediate results, were we doomed to another year of being the laughing stock of the league? Thankfully no, that goes to the Oakland Raiders‘ Head Coach Jon Gruden (congrats on the signing of Nate “interception” Peterman?) and his decision to trade Mack to the Bears (which worked out great for Chicago because Mack has more sacks than the ENTIRE Oakland defense). I remember Nagy asked the fans and players in his press conference that night after losing to the Packers and throughout the following week to trust him. Something Bears fans hadn’t been able to do for a head coach since Lovie. But we did, we saw how close we were to dethroning Rodgers and the fudgePackers and stayed the course, as evidenced by the season thus far. I mean look at the Bears now. In their 4 losses, the point total is 16 points; the Bears could be undefeated this year if you actually look at their losses. But with every head coach, there’s growing pains. But it’s never supposed to go this smooth, not with the division the Bears are in; seeing as how two of their division rivals were in the playoffs last year.

The city of Chicago is buzzing with excitement (the Bears are really the most unifying symbol of the city and it’s been a long time since we’ve been relevant in football). Nagy has brought what he learned under Andy Reid, added his own twist to it, and led the Bears team to be one of the most terrifying in the league. With Mack as an easy pick for MVP and Nagy as the clear COTY, there’s no ceiling for this Bears team, barring injury. Name one team that could go into Soldier Field on a cold night in January and knock the Bears out of the playoffs. I’ll wait.

#BearTheFuckDown

Afterthoughts: knowing how much everyone gets a hard on for quarterbacks in the NFL, my MVP discussion can be easily converted to the case for the DPOY. Also, thank you Jon Gruden for giving me a reason to buy my first Bears jersey since Devin Hester.