It happens every year.

NFL fans and media, craving action, wait impatiently for months during what seems like an endless offseason. Then, finally, the season begins.

And suddenly, it all goes by so quickly.

Indeed, the midway point of the 2025 NFL regular season is upon us, with the first half of the year unveiling an assortment of surprises among the teams and players poised to reap rewards.

Here, I break it all down … who is favored to win honors – all the way up to the Super Bowl.

My MVP Prediction

1. Colts RB Jonathan Taylor
2. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes
3. Patriots QB Drake Maye

This is now perennially a QB award; no other position player has won it since Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson almost a decade-and-a-half ago.

But Taylor has been a production machine for the shockingly good Colts. He’s our guy.

Offensive Player of the Year

1. Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
2. Colts RB Jonathan Taylor
3. Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield

If the voters pick a QB as MVP, Taylor will take home this hardware.

Defensive Player of the Year

1. Browns DE Myles Garrett
2. Packers DE Micah Parsons
3. Broncos OLB Nik Bonitto

Garrett might be the best player in the NFL – and he remains the measuring stick for ex-Cowboys star Parsons, now in Green Bay.

Offensive Rookie of the Year

1. Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka
2. Colts TE Tyler Warren
3. Giants QB Jaxson Dart

The Bucs were loaded at receiver before all their injuries in that room. But even now? Egbuka creates the appearance that they’re still loaded.

Defensive Rookie of the Year

1. Giants OLB Abdul Carter
2. Eagles ILB Jihaad Campbell
3. Browns ILB Carson Schwesinger

To some degree, we’re betting on the come here. But we bet New York is about to unleash Carter, with numbers that will prove it.

Comeback Player of the Year

1. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott
2. 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey
3. Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson

Prescott has done some things on an MVP level a year after his awful “hamstring -torn-off-the-bone” injury. His team’s not good enough to make that award happen. But the comeback award is his.

Coach of the Year

1. Colts’ Shane Steichen
2. Patriots’ Mike Vrabel
3. Seahawks’ Mike Macdonald

The Colts and the Patriots are both in the process of engineering big-time turnarounds. This one is close.

My Playoff Predictions

AFC East champs – Buffalo Bills
AFC North champs – Baltimore Ravens
AFC South champs – Indianapolis Colts
AFC West champs – Kansas City Chiefs
AFC Wild-cards – New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers

NFC East champs – Philadelphia Eagles
NFC North champs – Detroit Lions
NFC South champs – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC West champs – Los Angeles Rams
NFC Wild-cards – Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers

My Super Bowl Pick

Buffalo Bills defeat Detroit Lions

Two franchises that have never quite gotten it done on a Super Bowl-winning level … and in the end, Bills QB Josh Allen does just that.

I was also excited to be part of the full EssentiallySports staff’s midseason predictions. It’s a great read. Now you have us all on record.