Is this the MVP of the NFL season?

Can a running back win the NFL’s MVP award? Can the Baltimore Ravens turn their season around? We pick out some Winners and Losers from NFL Sunday…

Winner – James Cook

Let James Cook. The Buffalo Bills are an entirely different threat when their star running back is playing a prominent role in the gameplan. As much has been the case since Joe Brady stepped up as offensive coordinator in November 2023 in place of the fired Ken Dorsey, who was criticised for his failure to maximise Cook’s two-way role as both a chain-moving running back and added spice to Joe Allen’s passing attack.

The Bills had been guilty of falling stale on offense in the face of evolving defenses that sought to quash Allen’s deep threat, Cook’s best-of-both talents creating a far greater source of illusion to keep opponent’s honest. On Sunday he torched the Carolina Panthers with 19 catches for a career-high 216 yards and two touchdowns, including his 64-yard house call, to grant his quarterback permission for a quiet afternoon.

It marked the most rushing yards by a Bills player since O.J. Simpson’s 273 in November 1976. Brady needs to start thinking about 20-25 touches every game for him.

Loser – Myles Garrett

Myles Garrett put in a trade request with the Cleveland Browns earlier this year, underling a ‘desire to win, seemingly and rightly fed up of losing on a team that torpedoed its quarterback situation while wasting what continues to be one of the best defenses in the NFL. Days later he agreed a four-year, $160m extension; it felt slightly contradictory, considering all we know the Browns to be as an anti-winning organisation. The non-cynical ones among us might choose to believe it was loyalty out of the franchise who made him the face of the city.

Regardless, Sunday was a reminder of how far from winning he and the Browns are as Garrett put up a career-best five sacks only to see Cleveland hobble to a 32-13 defeat to the New England Patriots. The performance also saw Garrett break the record for most sacks before the age of 30 in NFL history with 112.5, while being the third player ever to post 10-plus sacks in at least eight seasons. Having traded away Joe Flacco, the Browns are seeking to find out whether they have an answer at quarterback in Dillon Gabriel. But the frustration is mounting for Garrett, who was seen smashing his helmet on the bench Sunday.

“I would throw the whole performance in for a win,” he said post-game.

Winner – Justin Fields

Being happier for anybody in the NFL more than Justin Fields was a tall order this weekend.

It felt only too fitting that Fields would help steer the Jets towards their long-awaited first win of the season to cap a week in which he had been subject to direct and public criticism from team owner Woody Johnson, who chose to pin the blame on his quarterback over head coach Aaron Glenn. Fields finished 21 of 32 for 244 yards and a decisive game-winning touchdown pass to Mason Taylor as New York stunned the Cincinnati Bengals 39-38 having trailed 24-10 and then 31-16 before finding the end zone three times in the fourth quarter.

His post-game interview did much of the talking without a lot of talking, Fields almost smiling in relief that he was able to produce the perfect response, with Tyrod Taylor rumoured to start had he not been injured. Fields and the Jets had a major helping from running back Breece Hall, who had 18 carries for 133 yards and two touchdowns amid speculation linking him to a trade ahead of the league’s November 4 deadline. In contrast, the Bengals squandered a golden opportunity to resurrect their season behind Joe Flacco, who again continue to reignite Cincinnati’s stumbling offense in the absence of Joe Burrow only to see his side come up short in a bid to move to 4-4.

“When I was on the field, I was damn near crying,” Fields said. “Not because we won. But just how everything I’ve been through the past week, everything we’ve been through as a team these past seven weeks. Lots of ups and downs.”

Loser – Bijan Robinson

Is there a stranger team in the NFL than the Atlanta Falcons? They lose 0-30 to the Carolina Panthers, they take down the Washington Commanders and MVP Josh Allen’s Super Bowl-contending Buffalo Bills and then on Sunday slump to defeat against a Miami Dolphins team in tatters with a head coach burning on the hot seat and a perfect performance from a quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa under fierce scrutiny for comments regarding his teammates.

Atlanta were without Michael Penix Jr as Kirk Cousins returned under center, but the real story came at running back as Bijan Robinson was limited to just nine carries for 25 yards, among which was a lost fumble in the end zone as the Falcons failed to get their run game going. It was the latest reminder that this team runs through the production of its multi-purpose Offensive Player of the Year candidate; when Robinson has a quiet day, so do Atlanta – as much raising question marks over why there are games when Zac Robinson seems to forget who he has in the backfield, even more so when it is with their backup quarterback on the field. 12 total touches for your best player is criminal. They are a familiar picture of inconsistency, blessed with talent but unable to transform it into a dominant run.

Winner – The Ravens’ season

Baltimore entered the week in Last Chance Saloon territory, floating dangerously on the brink of a premature end to their season. But they would keep their campaign alive thanks to a 30-16 win over the Chicago Bears, snapping the four-game winning-streak of Ben Johnson’s team and rising to 2-5 with Lamar Jackson expected back on Thursday after a three-game absence and their playoff ambitions still just about alive.

Tyler Huntley proved a major upgrade on turnover-prone Cooper Rush at quarterback with his ability to scramble and play out-of-structure, punched in two touchdowns including a decisive fourth-score, and safety Kyle Hamilton’s deployment as a pass rusher out of the box arrived a desperately-needed spark to one of the worst defenses in the league. Huntley finished the game 17 of 22 for 186 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 53 yards.

The Ravens are heading into a favourable run on their calendar with games against the Miami Dolphin, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns and New York Jets, Jackson’s imminent return increasing hope of a dramatic turnaround over the second half of the season.

Loser – Kellen Moore

New Orleans is incredible, the Superdome is majestic, NOLA fans are loud, exciting and friendly, and yet it remains one of the least appealing head coach jobs in football.

They are stuck in quarterback purgatory, Spencer Rattler being benched in Sunday’s 23-3 defeat to the Tamp Bay Buccaneers before Tyler Shough 17 of 30 passers for just 128 yards and an interception. Kellen Moore deserves a couple of years to try and make this work, but there are few head coaches with as little to work with than the former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator.

The Saints are still irrelevant, ranking fourth-worst in scoring offense as Moore now spends the next day or two deciding whether to start Rattler or Shough in Week Nine. Rattler has been intercepted four times and sacked seven times over the last two games, as with Robinson, star player Alvin Kamara was afforded just six carries for 21 yards.

New Orleans are now 1-7 and in pole position for the No 1 pick at the 2026 NFL Draft. Moore should be excited and enthused about the prospect of digging this Saints offense out of the mud, but they are a franchise in trouble.

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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com