The NFL season is a long, drama-filled, unpredictable thing. There are 32 teams in the NFL that compete every year for 12 playoff spots each year, and eventually, the ultimate goal for every team, a chance to play for the super bowl. Right now the top teams in the playoff picture for the AFC in order are the Chiefs, Steelers, Patriots, and then the Texans rounding out the division leaders at number four, with the Los Angeles Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals still holding on to the two wild-card spots. In the NFC the Los Angeles Rams hold on to the number 1 seed as of right now, followed by the Saints, Bears, Redskins, Panthers, and Vikings. There are a lot of teams around the league this year that are capable of competing for the super bowl and it is still a wide-open race. There are also still a few teams on the outside looking in that could make a run in the playoffs like the Tennessee Titans, Green Bay Packers, and the defending champs, Philadelphia Eagles. Overall it has been a very entertaining season so far, with a lot of great teams, like the New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Rams, and Kansas City Chiefs for example. There are also individual awards to be given out. Some awards of significance in the NFL are the MVP award (Most Valuable Player), Offensive and Defensive player of the year awards, coach of the year, and offensive and defensive rookie of the year awards. Some players in the running for MVP are QB Drew Brees from the Saints, RB Alvin Kamara from the Saints, QB Matt Ryan for the Falcons, and QB Patrick Mahomes from the Chiefs. Some players in the running for OROY are QB Baker Mayfield from the Browns and WR Calvin Ridley from the Falcons. Some OPOY candidates include QB Patrick Mahomes and RB Todd Gurley from the Rams. DPOY candidates include DT Aaron Donald from the Rams and DE JJ Watt from the Texans. Coach of the year candidates includes Mike Vrabel from the Titans and Los Angeles Rams head coach, Shaun McVay. There is a lot of excitement and drama still left to play out this season, and it should be a very interesting finish.

¨All Saints Academy Football¨ by Josh Hallet is shared under an Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)