NFL Update: MVP Watch Week 12 (Part 3)
Now down to the last four candidates on the list of season MVP, we have a linebacker, wide receiver, and two more QBs.
Number seven on the MVP Watch is linebacker for the Green Bay Packers, Clay Matthews. Most likely to be defensive player of the year, Matthews also has a chance at season MVP. The Packers’ defense has allowed only 10 points in its last three games, with
Matthews leading the league with the highest number of sacks. Although games against the Falcons and Patriots remain, Matthews will be a major factor in the outcomes. Matthews leads the 7-3 Packers, who are currently tied with the Bears for the NFC North Crown.
They are the third best team in the NFC in terms of win percentage, along with three other teams who are also at .700.
In the Packers’ Week 11 game against the Vikings, Matthews had five tackles, none of which were assisted. He sacked the QB once and stopped play behind the line of scrimmage for one stuff and had four yards in terms of stuff yardage. For those who do not
know what “stuff” means, it is abbreviated as STF and does not have a clear meaning. But it is implied that you get credit for a tackle that you make behind the line of scrimmage. Stuff yardage, abbreviated as STFY, is the yardage lost in the stuff tackle.
So far this season, Matthews has made a total of 36 tackles, three of which were assisted, and also leads the league with 11.5 sacks. How do you get half a sack? Basically, Matthews assisted another player in sacking the QB. That’s how you get half a sack.
Matthews also had four stuffs this season for 13 yards and forced one fumble.
Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens is on the MVP Watch in the number eight slot as a QB. He has thrown only one interception in addition to 11 TDs in his last five games and hasn’t had a QB rating of less than 99.5 in those games. Since September, Flacco
has thrown only two interceptions, and has thrown eight TDs and no interceptions at home, where four of their six remaining games will be. On the road, Flacco has thrown eight TDs and seven interceptions and we’ll see if he plays better in his final home games
against the Bucs, Steelers, and Saints. Flacco leads the 7-3 Ravens who are currently tied for first with the Steelers as leaders of the AFC North and tied for third in the AFC, again with the Steelers, but behind the Jets and Patriots, with a win percentage
of .700.
In Week 11’s game against the Panthers, Flacco passed for 24 of 33 for 301 yards and ran for 56 yards, while scoring one TD. He threw no interceptions that game, earning him a QB rating on 110.8.So far this season, Flacco has completed 206 passes of 330
attempts for 2433 yards and has rushed for 58 yards. He has thrown 16 TDs and 7 interceptions, while being sacked 19 times, for a passer rating of 92.1.
Falcons’ wide receiver Roddy White is number nine on the list of MVP candidates with eight more receptions than any other player in the NFL. He is one of two receivers that have already had over 1,000 receiving yards this season. Broncos’ Brandon Lloyd has
the best receiver stats overall, including an average of 19.4 yards per reception, but they are losing too much for him to become prominent. White has the most third down receptions in the NFL with 24, 20 of which led to first downs. He is the NFL leader in
terms of third down yardage in receiving.
In last week’s game against the Rams, White made nine receptions for 83 yards, averaging 9.2 yards per reception with his longest reception at 26 yards. So far this season, White has 79 receptions for 1017 yards under his belt, with the longest being for
46 yards, along with seven TDs.
The last candidate for season MVP will be discussed in the last article.
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