Yes, obviously we love the entirety of the NFL season but now we’re into what is essentially Christmas for football fans – the playoffs. It’s that time of year when Eagles fans can start to dream of banishing last season’s demons.
It’s when Packers fans can act like their team is still relevant and it’s when everyone but San Francisco 49ers fans can live in blissful ignorance of the Super Bowl odds. Anyway, we’ll leave the Super Bowl fortune telling to all of those two a penny prediction pieces out there right now.
Our focus today is looking backwards rather than forwards. We’ve trawled through all the stats, rewatched the YouTube highlights and consulted our varied and scattered notes to bring you our list of the top performing players in the NFL so far; read on to find out who they are:
We're now on WhatsApp. Click here to join.
Number Five: Travis Kelce
There are two camps right now, those that argue that Taylor Swift is annoying and is ruining the NFL and those that disagree and say she’s bringing an X Factor to football. Let’s clear one thing up right away, both camps are annoying and are both genuinely detracting from the only thing that’s important – the football.
Which is a crying shame because out on the field Travis Kelce has been superb. His performances throughout 2023 have demonstrated why he really deserves to be considered amongst the great names of the game.
If that comes as a shock to you, maybe take some time away from berating/supporting Taylor Swift and focus on the football.
Number Four: Nick Bosa
God the 49ers are good aren’t they? They look a surefire bet for the Lombardi Trophy and one of the reasons for that is the performances of Nick Bosa. Back in September of 2023 Bosa signed a five year contract worth a reported $170 million, making him the highest paid defensive player in NFL history and right now, he looks worth every penny.
For a player with such few regular league games under his belt, it’s remarkable how confidently Bosa takes to the field. Sneering and cocksure he has been the bane of many an NFL offense thus far this campaign and finding out how to circumnavigate him will be the task of the Packers scouting team ahead of this weekend’s game.
Number Three: Jalen Hurts
Okay, for this one we’re going to ask you to cast your mind back a couple of months, before the Eagles went 1-5 and suddenly started to look like a disaster in waiting. To a time when the Eagles had started the season 10-1 and looked destined to get their hands on the Lombardi trophy.
That’s when their offense was firing and that’s when Jalen Hurts was pulling the strings. At that point Hurts was a real contender for MVP, now? Not so much.
He has been poor in the Eagles last 6 league games, throwing more interceptions this season than in his past two combined. He has to be included in this list for his performances in the first 11 games of the season though.
Eagles’ fans will be hoping he can pull a rabbit out of the hat in the playoffs and rediscover some of that early season form.
Number Two: Justin Jefferson
For Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings the season is over which means it’s a time for reflection and the former can reflect on a darn good season indeed. Whilst he won’t be involved in the showpiece playoff games he’s done his career no harm at all these past 4 months.
He missed seven and a half games but still finished with the best offensive stats in the team. 68 receptions for 1,074 yards, 5 touchdowns, 107.4 yards per game and an amazing three games with over 150 yards.
All in all it’s been a season to remember for Jefferson and though Vikings fans might not like to hear it, surely it’s time for him to start thinking about his next move…
Number One: Patrick Mahomes
Obviously. Obviously. Who else did you think was going to be Number One? We’re not even going to justify this one either or throw a whole heap of stats at you. You know why he’s Number One and that’s because he’s the best in the league and he’s shown it time and time again.
Oh, and to think there were people out there doubting him not so long ago…
