We are officially past the halfway point of the 2019 NFL season. After Sunday, teams have played 134 of the 267 games on the annual NFL calendar, which comes out to 50.2%. The last game of the first half was one of its most entertaining, with Baltimore ending New England's march toward a perfect season with a 37-20 defeat.
That game and many others from Sunday figured into my midseason awards ballot, which changed several times as the day went along and looked very different from the one I might have filed this time last week. There's really only one or two of the official categories that have a clear favorite at this point, and even that requires applying an inconsistently used rule for Offensive Player of the Year. Aaron Rodgers might have been the favorite to win the award after Week 8, but he's no longer in the top three here after an anonymous performance against the Chargers.
Perhaps this shouldn't be a surprise in a league where 21 of 32 teams are over .500, at .500, or within one game of .500, including all of the AFC South and three of the four teams in the AFC West. Everything still feels up for grabs, and that includes just about every award. My ballot is designed to encapsulate who played best during the first half of the NFL season as opposed to who is most likely to win the award at the end of the season. I'll also include my first-half All-Pro team, which is considered under the same circumstances:
While offensive linemen don't typically need as long to come back from Achilles injuries as running backs or wide receivers, this isn't supposed to happen. Brooks, who has excelled at guard for the Eagles since joining the team in 2016, was a major doubt to start the season after tearing his Achilles in the divisional-round loss to the Saints. Even if he did make it back early in 2019, it seemed unlikely that he would immediately regain the form that led to back-to-back Pro Bowl appearances in 2017 and 2018.
Instead, Brooks was back for training camp, and after playing 73% of the snaps in the opening week win over Washington, he has been in for every snap since. He has also gotten right back to his old level of play; the former Texans standout has posted a 94.1% pass block win rate this season, which ranks 10th among guards. Brooks has only committed one penalty all season and has been credited with just one sack allowed by Stats LLC. Brooks is right back where he belongs as one of the best offensive linemen in football. (Honorary mention here to Sheldon Rankins, who also tore his Achilles in that playoff game and returned after missing the first three weeks of the season.)
When Kupp went down with a torn ACL last season, Jared Goff's numbers dropped off across the board. After posting a passer rating of 115.4 and a Total QBR of 77.0 with Kupp on the field, those marks fell to 90.2 and 50.8, respectively, without Kupp in the lineup. His unique mix of skills allows him to serve as both a blocking threat on the backside of run plays, a safety valve for Goff in the Rams' preferred 11 personnel package, and one of the league's most devastating threats after the catch with the ball in his hands.
Goff has struggled at times this season, but you can imagine how much worse off he would be without Kupp. While Kupp's target and receiving share were pretty similar to that of fellow wideouts Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods before going down last season, Kupp has graduated into the primary role this season. He comfortably leads the team in receptions (58), targets (86), receiving yards (792) and receiving touchdowns (five). Kupp has been targeted on 30% of the routes he has run this season, which ranks second among wideouts behind Michael Thomas. Some skill-position players take a full year before they're back to their old selves after tearing an ACL. Kupp doesn't look like his pre-tear self this year. He looks better.
As good as Brooks and Kupp have been, though, I have to give the nod to Frederick after recovering from Guillain-Barré syndrome. There are no easy injuries to come back from, of course, but while Brooks and Kupp had familiar timelines and rehab schedules to work with in returning from their injuries, Frederick was dealing with a rare virus and a totally uncertain future. There are only a few examples of players in other sports dealing with the illness and making it back onto the field, let alone returning to their prior level of play, with former Liverpool defender Markus Babbel as the most notable example.
Frederick was arguably the best center in football before missing all of 2018 with his illness. I'm not sure he's been the best center in the league since returning from the ailment, but he's been an above-average pivot on one of the league's best lines this season, going all season without committing a single penalty. For Frederick to come back and play at a high level is incredibly brave.
What Bush is doing as an instant starter for a defense ranked ninth in DVOA before Sunday's win over the Colts can't be underestimated. The Steelers have seemingly been drafting and developing star linebackers for decades, but they don't usually start as rookies. Since 1999, the only rookie Steelers linebackers to start seven of their first eight games in the league, as Bush has this season, are T.J. Watt and Kendrell Bell. Bell was a Pro Bowler as a rookie, and Bush might be on the same path.
Bush continues to stuff the stat sheet, although after recovering three fumbles over the first month of the season, he has only recovered one over the ensuing three games. He took that fumble to the house against the Chargers, and he added an interception of Philip Rivers in that game. Bush is tied for the league lead among rookies in interceptions with two, which is rare for an inside linebacker. More traditionally, he paces all freshmen in both tackles and solo tackles. With the Steelers relying on their defense to win games, it's difficult to imagine where they would be without their first-round pick.
Allen has flown under the radar by virtue of playing on the Jaguars amid Gardner Minshew mania, but like their fill-in quarterback, the first-round pick has made an immediate impact. Allen has seven sacks in eight games, including a pair of strip sacks. He even picked up a sack by spinning off of star Saints left tackle Terron Armstead, although it was admittedly a coverage sack.
Could you make the case that Allen is better than Nick Bosa? Maybe. Their production is relatively similar, given that Allen has seven sacks and 13 knockdowns on 371 defensive snaps, while Bosa has an identical seven sacks and 13 knockdowns on 292 snaps. The extra opportunities obviously help Allen, but Bosa has also played on a defense that has almost constantly been ahead and able to pin their ears back to go after the quarterback. Both play alongside great defensive linemen, which makes it easier to see one-on-one opportunities. According to ESPN's analysis of NFL Next Gen Stats, Allen has been double-teamed on 26.3% of his pass-rushing opportunities, slightly ahead of Bosa at 21.8%.
I'll narrowly give the nod to the younger Bosa brother, who has created nine sacks with his pass rushes this season, tied for sixth in the league. Bosa has created those nine sacks on 111 pass-rushing opportunities, in contrast to Allen's seven sacks created on 147 pass-rushing reps.
The Defensive Player of the Year hype surrounding the second overall pick might be a little inflated -- he might not even be the best member of the Bosa family for that discussion -- but he has made an instant impact for the league's most-improved defense.
I was all ready to place Saints center Erik McCoy on this list after a glowing start to the season, but with McCoy hit by four holding penalties in the first half and Metcalf dragging overmatched Bucs cornerback Jamel Dean for 123 yards and a touchdown during Sunday's overtime win over Tampa Bay, I'm pushing the league's leading rookie receiver into the top three. Not bad for the ninth wideout chosen in the 2019 draft class.
While I'm generally loath to totally throw away a player's scouting report after a half-season of football, it's clear that the scaremongering surrounding Metcalf before the draft wasn't accurate. Metcalf can do more than run in a straight line. He's not limited to go or fade routes, although he's absolutely terrifying when the Seahawks get him isolated against a smaller cornerback. Metcalf is threatening teams on deep crossing routes and drag routes, where he can use his 6-foot-3 frame to create separation from opposing cornerbacks and his speed to run away from opposing linebackers after the catch. Russell Wilson's unconscious first half on deep balls has made this the perfect landing spot for Metcalf, but the rookie wideout is playing his part, too.
While the preseason storylines surrounding Murray and the Air Raid seemed to suggest that they would either take the league by storm or fail miserably as gimmicks, the truth has been somewhere in the middle. Murray and the Cardinals' rushing attack has been more effective than anybody would have expected, with Arizona ranking fourth in rush offense DVOA through the first eight weeks of the season. Murray, who has 56 carries for 313 yards and two touchdowns, ranks fourth in expected points added as a runner among quarterbacks.
Strictly on pass plays, Murray ranks 17th in Total QBR at 54.7. The Cardinals aren't asking Murray to throw downfield frequently, with the former Oklahoma star averaging just 6.7 air yards per pass attempt, which ranks 28th in the league. Some of that likely owes to a lack of confidence in Arizona's pass protection. The Cardinals also haven't exactly been stocked with burners at receiver, given that Christian Kirk missed three games and Andy Isabella had barely played before his long catch-and-run against the 49ers. Murray's leading targets at receiver have otherwise been Larry Fitzgerald and KeeSean Johnson. If he can start using the threat of the running game to create big plays downfield as a passer, the Cards will hit new heights on offense.
The lone rookie running back who has been an every-week starter for his team, Jacobs has flourished behind one of the league's most impressive offensive lines. Chalking Jacobs up as a product of that line wouldn't be fair, though; he has averaged 2.13 yards after first contact as a rusher, which ranks third among backs with 100 carries or more. On Sunday, he beat up and ran over the Lions, racking up 120 yards, two touchdowns and seven first downs on 28 carries.
Jacobs ranks sixth in the league in rushing yards through eight games, combining significant volume with slightly above-average efficiency as measured by tools like Success Rate. You might hope he contributes more as a receiver, given that he has 11 catches for 102 yards so far, but there's no perfect rookie this season. As the focal point of an underrated Raiders offense, though, Jacobs has done enough to finish first at the halfway point.
In a year where this award could easily go to one of eight or nine coaches, there's no right order for the candidates here. I'm not going to name guys like Sean McDermott, Andy Reid or Ron Rivera, each of whom wouldn't be remotely offensive as the winners after nine weeks. This award typically goes to new coaches who drive single-season turnarounds; the obvious option there is Green Bay's Matt LaFleur, who dropped into fourth after Sunday's curious loss to the Chargers.
Coaches who have been consistently great for years like Payton rarely get consideration for this award, but 2019 might qualify as an exception. Payton's Saints hit the bye at 7-1, which included a 5-0 record with Teddy Bridgewater while Drew Brees was out with a thumb injury. Bridgewater is one of the better backups in the league on paper, of course, but the Saints comfortably beat teams like the Seahawks, Cowboys and Bears when they were supposed to struggle.
The only hole I would poke in that argument is that the offense wasn't the driving force in those victories. During that 5-0 run, the Saints ranked ninth in Win Probability Added on offense, a testament to what Payton and Bridgewater were able to do with Michael Thomas and a great offensive line. It's also notable that Dennis Allen's defense ranked third in Win Probability Added over that time frame, trailing only the Patriots and 49ers. I'd be more likely to pick Allen for Coordinator of the Year than I would be to pick Payton for Coach of the Year, although both deserve serious consideration.
Belichick dropped out of the top spot in the Coach of the Year rankings after Sunday night's loss to the Ravens, where his previously dominant defense was gashed for 372 yards and 31 offensive points by Lamar Jackson & Co. One disappointing game doesn't knock the Patriots out of the discussion for the greatest defense ever -- just to make a comparison to a legendary defense from the past, the 2000 Ravens allowed 38 points to the Jaguars in Week 2 -- but it does lend credence to people who suggested their dominant early performances were significantly influenced by subpar opposition.
I was surprised to see Belichick approach the Ravens game in such a conservative way on offense. With the Patriots down 17-0 in the first half, Belichick decided to punt on fourth-and-1 from his own 40, only to be bailed out when former Pats corner Cyrus Jones muffed the punt and gave the ball to New England. The Pats then punted again on fourth-and-9 from the Baltimore 37-yard line, only to catch another break when they recovered a Mark Ingram fumble. At the end of the half, with legendary sneak king Tom Brady, the Pats decided to kick a field goal to make it 17-13 in lieu of attempting to convert a fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line.
Belichick's game plan went well when the Ravens were turning the ball over, but the plan fizzled out once the fumbles stopped going the Pats' way. After halftime, the Ravens returned a Julian Edelman fumble for a 70-yard touchdown. On their next offensive drive, with a 23-20 lead, John Harbaugh decided to go for it on fourth-and-4 and converted with a pass to Willie Snead. They scored a touchdown five plays later and never looked back. Belichick is a genius, and it's possible that he simply didn't have much faith in his offensive line in short-yardage, but Harbaugh outmanaged him Sunday.
After two difficult years of rebuilding the San Francisco roster and dealing with an injury to Jimmy Garoppolo, Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have seen their plan come together masterfully in 2019. The 8-0 49ers are beating teams up at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football. You can argue that they've been more dominant than the Patriots; the Niners have trailed for a total of just under 17 minutes in the second half this season, and not once since their Week 3 victory over the Steelers.
The 49ers have been healthier on the defensive side of the ball than they were a year ago, but it's scary to think that they're doing this with a severely compromised offense. While Garoppolo has been healthy after missing most of 2018 with a torn ACL, the 49ers are down both of their starting tackles, fullback Kyle Juszczyk, running back Jerick McKinnon, and wideouts Trent Taylor and Jalen Hurd. It hasn't mattered.
As with Payton, you could make the argument that the start might be less about Shanahan and more about Robert Saleh's defense, given that the 49ers rank 13th in Win Probability Added on offense and second on defense. Maybe it's too simplistic to just give the award to the coach of the one undefeated team left in the league. Given that the 49ers were 1-7 this time last season, I'm willing to keep things simple.
Offensive Player of the Year
I'm going to follow the voter model of using the OPOY vote to focus on offensive players who aren't quarterbacks. It seems silly to award MVP to an offensive player and then say he isn't the best offensive player, but it will let us talk about more players here.
For all the injuries the 49ers are dealing with on offense, Kittle -- even more so than Garoppolo -- is the lone irreplaceable player Shanahan has on that side of the ball. You already know about what he can do after the catch with the ball in his hands, even if his fantasy numbers have been deflated thanks to touchdowns taken away via penalties or catches coming up just short of the goal line. Kittle has been targeted on an even one-third of the routes he has run and has caught a pass on 26.4% of those routes, with the latter figure ranking first among all pass-catchers.
Where Kittle has really shined during the first half, though, is as a blocker. If he's not quite at the Rob Gronkowski level, he's not far off. There are new Kittle blocks to fawn over on Twitter every week, and as the 49ers have lost Juszczyk and both of their tackles, Kittle's work in the running game has become even more important. The 49ers average more than a half-yard per carry more with Kittle on the field. His versatility makes him absolutely essential.
It's easy to make the case that Thomas has been the best wide receiver in football, and that's even without considering that his starting quarterback has missed the better part of six games. Thomas' consistency has been remarkable; he has at least 89 receiving yards in seven of his eight games this season.
Where Thomas has truly stood out during his time as an elite receiver, though, is in catch rate. Thomas caught 85% of the passes thrown in his direction last season, which is just unreal for a No. 1 wideout; to put that in context, going back to 2001, no receiver with 100 or more targets in a season had previously topped a catch rate of 79%. He obviously deserved some of the credit for those numbers, but I think plenty of the credit also went to Brees.
Well, with Brees missing for most of 2019, Thomas has posted a catch rate of ... 82%. That's tops in the league among qualifying wideouts, narrowly ahead of Seattle star Tyler Lockett. Thomas is yet to drop a pass in 2019 despite leading the league in targets per game at 11.1. He has essentially been a vacuum at wideout since the start of 2018, regardless of who has been at quarterback. He's doing it without another above-average threat on this team at wide receiver or tight end. With all due respect to guys like DeAndre Hopkins and Julio Jones, Thomas is the best wide receiver in football.
While he isn't quite dominant enough to justify MVP consideration over the league's top quarterbacks, McCaffrey is comfortably ahead of the pack at running back as the focal point of the Carolina offense. After shredding the Titans for 166 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns on Sunday, the Stanford product leads the league in both yards from scrimmage (1,244) and touchdowns (13). Dalvin Cook is the only other player within 100 yards from scrimmage of McCaffrey, and he has already played nine games to McCaffrey's eight.
McCaffrey ranks seventh in league history for most yards from scrimmage through the first eight games of a season, just ahead of Adrian Peterson's 2007 campaign. The guys ahead of him include Hall of Famers such as Jim Brown, Marshall Faulk and Terrell Davis. Those seven seasons, when prorated to 16 games, averaged 2,408 yards from scrimmage and 22 touchdowns. McCaffrey is not quite 100% healthy -- he was on the injury report with a knee issue and was briefly evaluated for a concussion on Sunday -- but he's on pace for 2,488 yards from scrimmage and 26 touchdowns.
Would that be enough to engender serious MVP consideration down the line? I'm not sure. McCaffrey would come up 21 yards short of Chris Johnson's record season of 2,509 yards from scrimmage, but when Johnson set that mark for an 8-8 Titans team in 2008, he didn't receive any MVP attention. The touchdown total seems more likely to attract attention, given that players like Shaun Alexander and LaDainian Tomlinson were able to win 21st century MVP awards with gaudy touchdown marks. If McCaffrey can make it to 30 touchdowns and pushes the Panthers into the playoffs without Cam Newton, he's going to be in the discussion.
One reason to think he might actually have a shot at getting to 30 scores? McCaffrey doesn't have to play the Bucs again. With Vita Vea emerging as an elite run defender, Tampa has led the league in rush defense DVOA and been the only team capable of shutting down CMC. In his two games against Tampa, he has carried the ball 38 times for just 68 yards to go along with six catches for 42 yards. McCaffrey is averaging 55 yards from scrimmage and zero touchdowns per game against the Bucs, but then 189 yards from scrimmage and more than two touchdowns per game against the rest of the NFL.
No, this isn't a hyped season for the defending two-time Defensive Player of the Year, who has a relatively modest nine quarterback knockdowns through eight games for the Rams. The Rams have struggled in the secondary, and without a dominant edge rusher, he has seen a steady stream of double-teams on the interior. According to ESPN's analysis of NFL Next Gen Stats, only Kenny Clark has been double-teamed more often than Donald so far. It's nothing new for the superstar Rams defensive tackle.
Even given the attention, Donald is still impacting games. He has five sacks to go with seven tackles for loss against the run, with the latter figure leading the NFL. The Rams have allowed an 82.5 passer rating and a 42.2 QBR with Donald on the field this season, but with their superstar lineman on the sideline, those figures rise to a 130.5 passer rating and an 81.2 QBR. Don't be fooled: This is still the best interior lineman in the league.
I'm not sure anybody in the league is more difficult to block when his defense needs a big play than Jordan, who has been at the same level as the likes of Khalil Mack and Von Miller over the last couple of seasons. Jordan ranks among the league leaders with eight sacks, 13 quarterback knockdowns, and five tackles for loss. He has also created 10 sacks with his pass pressure, which ranks fourth in the league behind Mack, Za'Darius Smith and Shaq Barrett. I wouldn't blame you for putting any of those guys here, but Jordan is every bit as impactful.
While the Patriots had their worst performance of the season Sunday night, Gilmore wasn't to blame. Assigned the duty of covering top Ravens wideout Marquise Brown for most of the evening, Gilmore held the rookie to three catches for 48 yards on four targets. The Patriots have no fear with putting Gilmore on anybody, regardless of how big or fast they are.
In return, Gilmore has delivered. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, he has allowed a passer rating of just 39.3 as the closest defender in coverage, the third-lowest mark for cornerbacks who have at least 100 snaps in coverage. He has also been targeted 55 times, so opposing offenses are desperately going at the star corner in single coverage and failing. As valuable as it is to have a corner like Raiders-era Nnamdi Asomugha who wipes away one side of the field and allows a team to focus your coverage efforts elsewhere, it's even more valuable when a player like Gilmore can both draw lots of targets and then erase those pass plays in the process.
You could make a case for other Patriots here, but when I asked ESPN Patriots reporter Mike Reiss on my podcast last week to pick a defensive MVP from this defense, he picked Gilmore. As well as the rest of the defense has played for the majority of the first half, I have to agree. Gilmore's ability unlocks quite a bit of what the Patriots are capable of doing on the defensive side of the ball. Pass-rushers almost always win this award, but until one pulls away from the pack, his nearly unquestioned status as the best cornerback in football could open the Defensive Player of the Year trophy up for a defensive back.
The quarterbacks ranked first and second on my list belong in the top three no matter how you slice them. The competition for the third spot is far wider and looked at the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott as candidates. This might be considered recency bias given that the final game of Sunday evening was Baltimore beating the Patriots, but Jackson's performance against the league's best defense is enough to push him into the MVP discussion.
His raw passing numbers are ordinary, but when you combine his ability as a passer with his running statistics, he absolutely moves the needle. On 99 rush plays this season, Jackson has accrued just over 27 expected points worth of value. To put that in context, that's nearly more than the run expected points pieced together by the second- and third-ranked quarterbacks (Deshaun Watson and Daniel Jones) combined, as the two add up to nearly 29 expected points. Jackson ranks seventh in the league with 35 first downs as a runner; that's nearly as many as Leonard Fournette, who has 36, but the Jags back required 174 rush attempts to get to that total. Jackson's 35.4% first-down rate as a runner is comfortably the best in football.
As he showed on Sunday, Jackson is also a good enough passer to scare teams who sell out to stop the run. Heading into Sunday's game, the Patriots had allowed opposing quarterbacks to post a completion percentage of 52.4% against what NFL Next Gen Stats estimated as an expected completion percentage of 60.5%. Both numbers are remarkably low. Against the Ravens, though, the Pats allowed Jackson to complete 73.9% of his passes against an expected rate of 70.5%.
play
0:20
Thomas on Jackson: 'This man's the MVP'
Earl Thomas throws his support behind his quarterback Lamar Jackson in the MVP race.
After posting a Total QBR of 89 against the Patriots, Jackson's 69.8 mark in Total QBR ranks fifth in the league. One of the guys ahead of him is injured Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes. Another is Prescott, who leads the league in QBR and might slip back into third place with a big game against the Giants on Monday night. Jackson's ability to hold his own as a passer, lap the field as a runner and mostly avoid big hits and giveaways make him an incredibly valuable quarterback. He's the first guy who has made the Patriots defense look bad this season.
Nobody besides McCaffrey has a more impressive highlight reel than Watson, who seems to have one jaw-dropping, instantly-viral play per week. It feels like an eternity ago, but we've all mostly forgotten about Watson nearly beating the Saints in Week 1 by guiding his offense 75 yards on two plays for what looked to be a game-winning touchdown, only for the defense to blow the lead. That would have been a signature game for most quarterbacks, but it's buried under 15 or 20 more recent instances of Watson doing something few quarterbacks in the game can do with a casual flick of his wrist or shuffle of his feet.
While he will create pressure by extending plays and was without left tackle Laremy Tunsil for Sunday's blowout victory over the Jaguars in London, we're finally getting to see what the 2017 first-round pick can do with a bit of protection. Watson's pressure rate is down from a league-high 40.9% to 30.1% this season, and while he doesn't ever seem fazed by pressure, he's unsurprisingly better when the opposing pass rush is leaving him alone. He has posted a 111.6 passer rating and an 83.9 QBR without pressure, up from 91.3 and 47.4, respectively, when he has been pressured. Watson's sack rate has also dropped from 10.9% to 7.6%, which should keep the star quarterback healthier, although that doesn't account for the plays where he takes a hit and still manages to find a receiver for a first down.
As an aside, while I'm obviously not counting any of them against Watson, I'm the one killjoy who doesn't love those plays where Watson writhes in the grasp of an opposing defender before somehow completing a pass. I know it cost the Texans a possible touchdown when Watson was called in the grasp of Justin Houston against the Colts in Week 7, wiping away what should have been a touchdown pass. It's a thankless task for officials, who have to tow an impossible line. It's incredibly fun to see what Watson can do when he extends plays. He's also a quarterback with a pair of ACL tears in his past, and one wrong twist or late hit when he can't protect himself while looking downfield might very well create the third. I don't want Watson to get injured, and if it means the occasional premature grasp call, I would rather deal with that than have to watch AJ McCarron quarterback the Texans in a postseason game.
While they sound great on paper, Watson's actually not getting a ton of help from his receivers, who have dropped 4.6% of his passes. Only Carson Wentz (5.0%) and Prescott (5.5%) have been victimized by drops more frequently. The Texans lost Will Fuller to a hamstring injury, briefly lost Kenny Stills to a groin issue in London, and Bill O'Brien has pinned Keke Coutee to the bench for two straight games after his drop led to a game-ending interception against the Colts. Watson has responded by throwing his seven touchdown passes over the last four weeks to DeAndre Hopkins, Duke Johnson and Darren Fells. Watson has actually posted a better passer rating this season on throws to everyone besides Hopkins (108.6) than he has on throws to him (103.8).
I can only poke the tiniest holes in Watson's game to place him second. He has thrown five interceptions in 302 pass attempts. One was a Coutee drop, and another came on a play where it appeared two receivers incorrectly ran the same route into each other. Of the other three, two were ill-advised throws, including one in the end zone against the Chiefs. A 1.6% interception rate shouldn't typically be held against quarterbacks, but this is rarified air. Watson and the offense seem to have a couple of games each year when the attack inexplicably sputters out for an entire contest, and they already had two such games in September against the Jags and Panthers.
Watson would be a great MVP pick, and with Mahomes sidelined, nobody feels more capable of the seemingly impossible on any single snap than Houston's star quarterback.
There was a time when I would say that about Wilson, but it wouldn't be 2019. I'm not suggesting Wilson is incapable of pulling some magic out and scrambling forever before finding an open receiver if he needs to on a big play. I'm saying he hasn't really needed to very often this season. He looks about as under control and collected as any quarterback in football these days, like the game has slowed down several speeds. In an offense that hasn't valued him the way he deserved to be valued and with a receiving corps other quarterbacks would struggle to use well, though, Wilson has absolutely torn apart opposing defenses all season.
It's quickly gotten to the point for me where I assume a lofted Wilson throw is going to result in a catch and a big gain. With a receiving corps consisting mostly of 5-foot-10 Tyler Lockett and a pair of big receivers with little agility, Wilson seems to drop in inch-perfect lobs like he's in practice. On deep passes this season, he is completing more than 50% of his throws, averaging 15.1 yards per attempt, and posting a league-best QBR of 98.5. Stretch it further to ultra-deep passes traveling 26 or more yards in the air and Wilson is still completing nearly 60% of his attempts, good for a 142.4 passer rating and a 99.9 QBR. All those marks lead the league.
NFL Next Gen Stats back up Wilson. Given that his average pass is traveling nearly 9 yards in the air, it's no surprise that the NGS model only expects Wilson to complete 60.9% of his passes. Wilson is instead completing 68.2% of his throws. Among starting quarterbacks, only Prescott has outperformed his expected completion percentage more significantly than the Seahawks star. Wilson's touchdown pass to Lockett against the Rams was the most improbable completion of the last two seasons.
One of the reasons Wilson didn't gather as much MVP consideration as he perhaps deserved in recent years was volume; with the Seahawks insisting that the running game was the cause of their offensive success, Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer had taken more of the workload off Wilson's shoulders. Last season, while Wilson was wildly efficient, he threw just 427 passes, an average of just under 27 per game. There's just no way to compare Wilson to someone like Mahomes when the latter passer was averaging more than 36 attempts per game last season; it would be impossible for Wilson to be efficient enough to make up the cumulative differences between the two.
While the Seahawks still have games where they seem to forget they have the best quarterback in football -- the second half of the Falcons game as a recent example -- Wilson has taken over games more frequently in 2019. Seattle correctly veered away from their running game against the Bucs and their dominant run defense on Sunday and instead let Wilson throw 43 passes. He's averaging nearly 33 pass attempts per game this season, which compares comfortably with the other quarterbacks in the MVP discussion.
The most impressive thing about Wilson's first nine games might actually be how he has avoided turnovers. He has posted a 22-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, with the one pick coming at the hands of Marcus Peters against the Ravens. ESPN also credits Wilson with zero dropped interceptions. On top of that, though, he has only fumbled four times, losing one to the Steelers. He has only fumbled or thrown an interception on 1.3% of plays, the third-best mark in the league behind Rodgers and Bridgewater.
This isn't unprecedented territory for Wilson. Over the second half of 2015, he was neck-and-neck with Cam Newton as the best quarterback in football. Wilson actually led the league in Total QBR from Week 10 on at 81.1, averaging 8.6 yards per attempt and throwing 25 touchdown passes against just two interceptions. He looked a lot like the quarterback we've seen from the first half of 2019.
This time, Wilson has tossed in a bit of late-game flair to supplement his case. The 31-year-old now has four fourth-quarter comeback victories this season, although his defense blew their lead and forced him to launch two consecutive drives to set up what was a missed game-winning field goal attempt and a subsequent winning touchdown in overtime. In 2015, he was sharing the headlines and the credit with the Legion of Boom. This Seahawks defense ranked 22nd in DVOA before allowing the Bucs to score 34 points in the Pacific Northwest. Wilson has carried the Seahawks to 7-2. This is his team, and if Seattle keeps it up, it's going to be his MVP award, too.
Rockets point guard Russell Westbrook likely will rest for the second half of Houston's back-to-back Monday against the Grizzlies.
Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said before Sunday's game against the Heat that he expected to rest Westbrook for the next night's game.
But after Houston was routed 129-100 on Sunday night in Miami, D'Antoni left open the possibility that Westbrook could play Monday, responding "maybe" when asked about the former MVP's availability.
"You're going to see tomorrow," D'Antoni told reporters.
Westbrook played just 26 minutes Sunday night and struggled through his worst game as a member of the Rockets, finishing with season lows of 10 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds while committing a season-high seven turnovers.
Westbrook is averaging 21.2 points, 9.2 assists and 9.8 rebounds in six games this season, his first with Houston.
Throughout the regular season, our panel (ESPN's Tim MacMahon, Andre' Snellings, Royce Young and Bobby Marks, and The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing the best basketball now and which teams are looking most like title contenders.
The 76ers used the next-man-up approach in their road win at Portland. Without Joel Embiid -- the big man was suspended two games for the altercation with Karl-Anthony Towns -- the 76ers would get a combined 48 points from Tobias Harris and Al Horford, plus 43 points from their bench, including the game-winning shot by Furkan Korkmaz. The bench production is a result of four players on minimum contracts -- James Ennis III, Kyle O'Quinn, Raul Neto, Korkmaz -- and a fifth, Mike Scott, signed to the $4.8 million room mid-level exception. While much has been made about their starting five, GM Elton Brand went bargain shopping for reserves, and it has resulted in early season success. -- Marks
The Lakers have won five straight, and their 5-1 start is the best since the 2010-11 season, when L.A. didn't lose until its ninth game of the season. LeBron James, Anthony Davis & Co. were the first team in the Western Conference to reach the five-win mark -- they beat their Staples Center roommates by a few hours Sunday -- but have tough upcoming games against surging Miami and defending champion Toronto this week. -- Spears
What separates the Clippers is the rare combination of top-tier superstar talent layered with high-level depth. And that was on full display against the Jazz, with 50 points from the bench to go with 30 from Kawhi Leonard. Even if they need to deploy more load management for Leonard throughout the season, they should be able to absorb his production. Oh, and have we mentioned Paul George should be back soon? -- Young
The Bucks started the week with a tough road loss to the surging Celtics but came back with dominant performances against the Magic and Raptors. The Bucks' offense is clicking on all cylinders, producing 119.2 points per game on 47.5% shooting from the field. The unit is running even more through Giannis Antetokounmpo thus far this season than it did last, with the Greek Freak averaging a team-high 7.7 assists per game. -- Snellings
The good news is that all signs indicate that Donovan Mitchell is taking a major step toward superstardom by drastically improving his efficiency. He's averaging 25.7 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from 3-point range. The bad news: The Jazz are still way too dependent on Mitchell despite offseason moves to upgrade the offense. Utah is averaging 107.3 points per 100 possessions with Mitchell on the floor, compared to a dreadful 82 when he rests. -- MacMahon
The Nuggets' defeat to the Mavericks was just that -- a close loss to a quality team. But falling by 15 points on the road to the Zion-less Pelicans rang some alarm bells for coach Mike Malone. "We're a great talk team," Malone said after the game, which is an excellent burn from a coach. There's the burden of expectation on Denver this season, and Malone is putting the early challenge to his young team. They responded with a solid win on the road against Orlando, but tests against Miami and Philly loom this week -- Young
The Miami Heat are to be taken seriously. Back-to-back wins over the Hawks (without Trae Young, for full context) were nice, but the complete destruction of the Rockets has put everyone in the Eastern Conference on notice. Games at Denver and at the Lakers this week provide a couple of more tests, but regardless: The roster is balanced, the coaching is terrific, the bench is deep and the out-of-nowhere emergence of undrafted rookie Kendrick Nunn is one of the best early storylines of the season. -- Young
The Spurs rank second in the NBA in offensive efficiency (112.4 points per 100 possessions) despite ranking second to last in 3-pointers made (8.3 per game) and attempted (25.3). Another statistical oddity: San Antonio ranks second in rebounding percentage (53.7) despite the fact that a skinny point guard on a minutes restriction is leading the Spurs in rebounding, with Dejounte Murray grabbing 8.6 boards in only 23.3 minutes per game. -- MacMahon
The Raptors remain one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference on the strength of their defense, which has held opponents to only 40.1 percent shooting from the field through the first two weeks of the season. Pascal Siakam was the best defensive player on the Raptors by many analytics last season, and he is supported by former Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol and plus defenders across the board to form a stellar unit, even with two-time DPOY Kawhi Leonard on the West Coast. -- Snellings
The Rockets have been a defensive disaster early, similar to their start last season. But there are no easy solutions this time. They can't recruit assistant coach Jeff Bzdelik out of "retirement" again to run their defense, considering he's now on the Pelicans' staff. And there isn't a Carmelo Anthony on the roster to exile. Houston, which luckily escaped a 317-point battle Wednesday night in D.C., has allowed 40-plus points in a quarter four times in three games on this road trip. -- MacMahon
Karl-Anthony Towns made headlines this week as his scuffle with Joel Embiid spilled over into social media and led to both players being suspended. The Timberwolves blew out the Wizards on Saturday even with Towns serving the first half of his two-game ban, and thus end the week on top of the Northwest Division. They face a serious test to start this week in their second game without KAT, though, as the Bucks come to town featuring reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. -- Snellings
Players under 21 have produced 14 25-plus-point triple-doubles in NBA history, according to Basketball Reference. Luka Doncic has half of those, including one in each of his past two games, when he joined Jason Kidd as the only player in Mavericks history to dish out at least 15 assists in back-to-back games. You have to wonder whether Doncic (26.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 9.5 assists per game) can join Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook in averaging a triple-double for a season. -- MacMahon
Zach Collins' shoulder injury is a big one for the Blazers because interior depth was already a concern coming into the season. And the game against the 76ers highlighted that issue, as Portland struggled to find a workable front line against Al Horford and Tobias Harris. There's no timetable on Collins yet, but there was belief the Blazers were already going to look at frontcourt upgrades on the trade market, and that plan might accelerate now. -- Young
The Nets followed up their most complete win Friday against Houston with a clunker at Detroit one night later. Without Reggie Jackson, Derrick Rose and Tim Frazier, a Pistons backcourt of Bruce Brown and Luke Kennard outplayed Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert. Despite a 16-point performance from Spencer Dinwiddie off the bench in Detroit, the guard has struggled in the early part of the season. Through six games, Dinwiddie has shot 38.9% from the field, 24.1% from deep and a career-high 3 turnovers per game in 24.5 minutes on the court. Speaking of turnovers, the Nets rank second to last in turnovers per game at 19.3. -- Marks
The Pacers started off the season with three straight losses but have bounced back with three straight wins to get back to .500. The additions of Malcolm Brogdon, Jeremy Lamb and T.J. Warren are leading Indy's perimeter attack with a combined 48.7 points and 12.0 assists through the first two weeks to support their already strong interior game. -- Snellings
Suns center Aron Baynes has been holding down the fort for suspended center Deandre Ayton, who is out for 25 games for violating the NBA's drug policy after testing positive for a banned diuretic. Baynes is averaging 15.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the surprising Suns. The Australian also made a career-high four 3-pointers during a win over Memphis on Saturday night. -- Spears
Hawks guard Trae Young is listed as day-to-day after suffering a sprained ankle on Oct. 29 at Miami. Young had been averaging 26.8 points, 7.3 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game while nailing 50 percent of his 3-pointers before the injury. Atlanta rookie guard Cam Reddish has started in Young's place during a loss to Miami on Halloween, earning nine points, six rebounds and four assists. -- Spears
The Magic have struggled on offense this season, averaging only 93.5 points on 39.7 percent shooting from the field through their first six games, both marks dead last in the NBA. The Magic still aren't getting much production from the point guard position, with no player on the team averaging more than 4.3 assists. They have started to look toward the future of the position, starting 2017 No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz for the first time in their last outing against the Nuggets. -- Snellings
The Pistons bounced back from consecutive losses with a win over the Nets on Saturday. With Blake Griffin still ailing, Andre Drummond has absolutely dominated the interior with three straight 20-20 points-rebounds efforts. He leads the league in rebounds, which isn't unusual, but he is also second in the league in blocks. -- Snellings
Some things change, like playing against Russell Westbrook. But some things stay the same, like Damian Lillard icing the Thunder in crunch time. It's a developing theme for OKC: Close, competitive and right in it until the end, but a lack of cutting edge in the closing moments is keeping the team from winning games. It might feel like an offensive issue, but in reality, the Thunder's otherwise-stout defense is crumbling in the clutch. They are second to last in the league (behind only the Wizards) in clutch time defensive rating, allowing 142.5 points per 100 possessions in the final five minutes of a game within five points. -- Young
Raise your hand if you thought the Hornets would be 3-3 two weeks into the season. After being ranked dead last (again) in the most recent NBA Future Power Rankings, the Hornets have found early success with a duo of former second-round picks (Devonte' Graham and Dwayne Bacon) and four players selected in the first (PJ Washington, Malik Monk, Miles Bridges and Cody Zeller). Stuck on the treadmill of mediocrity for years with veterans on bloated contracts (Marvin Williams, Bismack Biyombo and Nicolas Batum), there may finally be a foundation in place in Charlotte. -- Marks
A silver lining in the Bulls' slow start is that Zach LaVine joined rare company when he passed 2,000 career points in his 93 games with the team during a loss to the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. LaVine now has 2,020 points in his career with the Bulls; the only other Bulls to score over 2,000 in fewer games was Michael Jordan (73 games) and Derrick Rose (86). -- Spears
The poor Pelicans still seem cursed when it comes to injury, despite poaching renowned athletic trainer Aaron Nelson from the Suns over the summer. Brandon Ingram's early exit from Saturday's loss to the Thunder due to a head injury meant four of the Pelicans' five projected starters have already missed time because of injury. That, of course, includes No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson, whose highly anticipated NBA debut is still more than a month away. -- MacMahon
We had pegged veteran Tristan Thompson as a player likely traded before the deadline because of his expiring contract and with the Cavaliers in a full rebuild. However, as evident by his 23-point, 10-rebound performance in a win against Chicago, the veteran might not only be a keeper but in contention for an All-Star spot in February. For the season, Thompson is averaging career highs of 17.6 points and 11.4 rebounds per game while shooting 56.9% from the field. -- Marks
The Wizards' defensive numbers may never fully recover from the game against the Rockets, but giving up 131 to a Karl-Anthony Towns-less Timberwolves team is probably a lower moment. In their last eight quarters, the Wizards have allowed 35 or more points six times. Coach Scott Brooks is praising the effort and competitive spirit of his group, which suggests their defensive problems might be an infrastructure issue. So maybe it can get better? -- Young
The injury-plagued Warriors are 1-5 for the first time since the 2000-01 season and will be without All-Star Stephen Curry (hand) for at least three months, as the two-time MVP joins Klay Thompson, who is out for the foreseeable future as he continues his recovery from an ACL tear (Golden State is 2-10 in games both have missed, according to the Elias Sports Bureau). To make matters even worse, Draymond Green will likely miss the next few games with a torn ligament in his finger. -- Spears
Sacramento is off to a slow start, so it's no surprise the team is being careful with the return of one of its young cornerstones. Injured Kings forward Marvin Bagley III told ESPN's The Undefeated that he expects the franchise to err on the side of caution with his return. On Oct. 24, the Kings said that Bagley would be out four to six weeks with a nondisplaced fracture in his right thumb. The No. 2 overall pick in 2018 averaged 14.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in his first season in the NBA. -- Spears
Jaren Jackson Jr. leaving Saturday's loss to the Suns with a knee injury merits concern in Memphis. The 20-year-old franchise cornerstone, who missed 24 games as a rookie, needs minutes to continue his development and to establish chemistry with prized rookie point guard Ja Morant. Only three of Jackson's buckets have been assisted by Morant through five games. -- MacMahon
The Knicks started the week with a 28-point Bobby Portis performance in a comeback win against Chicago, and ended it on a Jayson Tatum last-second shot in a loss to Boston. Sandwiched between was a 12-point loss at Orlando that saw New York get outscored 53-39 in the second half. Because of injuries at the point guard position and Dennis Smith Jr. out for personal reasons, New York has already featured four different starting lineups within the first two weeks of the season. In the loss to the Magic, rookie RJ Barrett started at the point and posted a team-worst minus-20 when he was on the court. -- Marks
Sir Andy Murray's wife Kim has given birth to their third child, a boy.
The baby, described by his grandmother Judy Murray as a "lovely, happy, healthy baby boy", was born last week in London, where the family live.
Sir Andy and Kim, both aged 32, married in the tennis star's hometown of Dunblane in 2015.
They already have two daughters, Sophia, who was born in 2016, and Edie, born in 2017.
Speaking on BBC Scotland's Mornings with Kaye Adams programme, Sir Andy's mother Judy said: "It's lovely news, lovely to have a little boy to go with the two little girls."
She said baby was born "a few days ago" and added: "I'll leave it to Andy and Kim to fill in all the details."
The three-time Grand Slam champion Murray won his first singles title since career-saving hip surgery by beating Stan Wawrinka at the European Open in October.
He had surgery in January and was playing in just his seventh tournament since returning to singles.
After the tournament he joked: "I'll have three kids under four years old. When I've been off the tour my family has got bigger so I need to get back on the road so we don't get out of control!
"I'm excited for the third kid. My wife's been a huge support for getting me back on the court and making me fight to keep playing."
The United States failed to advance past the group stage at the Under-17 World Cup for the second time in three tournaments, losing to the Netherlands 4-0 on Saturday night at Goiania, Brazil.
Sontje Hansen scored in the 42nd and 51st minutes, and the Dutch got late goals from Mohamed Taabouni in the 70th and Jayden Braaf in the 86th.
The Americans finished with a draw, two losses and a minus-7 goal difference, their worst at the FIFA Under-17 event, topping their minus-5 in 2001. The U.S. opened with a 4-1 loss to Senegal, then tied Japan 0-0. The U.S. would have advanced with a win over the Dutch in its Group D finale.
Gianluca Busio, who made his Major League Soccer debut for Sporting Kansas City in 2018, scored the Americans' only goal of the tournament. The roster included Gio Reyna, a son of former U.S. national team captain Claudio Reyna, and the team was coached by Raphael Wicky, who took over from John Hackworth.
After advancing to the knockout rounds five straight times from 2003-11, the U.S. failed to qualify for the 2013 tournament in the United Arab Emirates and was knocked out in the group stage of the 2015 event in Chile after losing twice and drawing once. The Americans advanced as a third-place nation two years ago in India, beat Paraguay in the round of 16 and lost 4-1 to eventual champion England in the quarterfinals.
Japan beat Senegal 1-0 in Cariacica and won the group with seven points, one more than Senegal. The Netherlands finished with three points and could advance depending on third-place nations in other groups.
Jose Mourinho should be worried. Never before have so many major European clubs been in need of a big-name manager to restore them to greatness but, as yet, none of them have been tempted to give the Special One the chance to prove he is still special.
AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Tottenham -- powerful clubs with status, ambition and history are all drifting towards failure and mediocrity, but Mourinho's availability hasn't tempted any of them to hire the two-time Champions League winner and multiple domestic champion.
Juventus and Inter Milan (whom Mourinho guided to a Treble in 2010) have both changed coaches this year and gone for other former Chelsea managers in Maurizio Sarri and Antonio Conte respectively, while AS Roma have also recruited a new coach, but their choice of a Portuguese manager led them to Paulo Fonseca rather than Mourinho.
It is now almost a year since Mourinho was sacked by Manchester United, less than 24 hours after a 3-1 defeat at Liverpool which left his team languishing in sixth position in the Premier League -- a position many at United would perhaps now gleefully accept after another defeat this weekend left Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men in 10th.
Since leaving Old Trafford, Mourinho has tried his hand at punditry, despite previously accusing former players and managers of choosing a "comfortable" life in the television studio because it is "better to have lots of holidays in Barbados and go to the television screen and touch the electronic dummies" than endure the pressure of management.
He has been linked with a return to coaching on several occasions, with reports, in no particular order, of interest from: Arsenal, Benfica, Real Madrid, Spurs, Inter, Roma, Lyon, Newcastle United, Valencia, Everton, Wolves and Boca Juniors. But even if there was a grain of truth in just a quarter of those links, the fact remains that Mourinho is still without a job after almost a year on the sidelines.
The Bayern job, which would hand Mourinho the chance to win a domestic title in a fifth European league, has become available this weekend following the sacking of coach Niko Kovac in the wake of a 5-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt, but the common consensus in Germany is that former RB Leipzig coach Ralf Rangnick or Ajax coach Erik ten Hag will be hired to replace the Croatian.
It looks as though another big job will come and go without Mourinho even being in the conversation, but has his reputation been tarnished to the point where he won't be considered by Europe's biggest clubs again?
Mourinho's last two jobs, at Chelsea and then United, ended with sources at both clubs telling ESPN FC that players and staff had grown tired of his abrasive approach and habit of blaming all those around him, in the dressing room and boardroom, for the team's failings. When he was sacked by United last December, one source said that Solskjaer was hired primarily as the "anti-venom" following Mourinho's acrimonious final months at the club.
play
1:56
Lowe: Mourinho is being used as Real Madrid's bogeyman
Sid Lowe quips that rumours of a Jose Mourinho return are being used to motivate Real Madrid's players.
With Mourinho making enemies at the training ground and among the hierarchy at United, as he did at Chelsea, there was little affection for him at Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge once it all came to an end. And at United, in particular, the Mourinho brand of football -- direct, negative and lacking in flair -- prompted criticism from supporters.
With a reputation for upsetting players, directors and supporters alike, it is unsurprising there are currently few takers for Mourinho among Europe's biggest clubs. But at some point, it is inevitable that one of them will blink first and judge Mourinho on his record rather than his reputation.
He has won every major club honour at least once as a coach, yet it is when it comes to the biggest trophies that Mourinho really stands apart: Two Champions Leagues, three Premier Leagues, two Serie A titles, a La Liga title with Real Madrid and four League Cups in England.
When big clubs are struggling, the determination to win silverware again is what drives them to make changes and it is what will eventually lead to Mourinho being brought back in from the cold.
Sources at Arsenal have insisted that they have had no contact with Mourinho as a possible replacement for Unai Emery, but Mourinho would be a significant upgrade on the Spaniard. While Real Madrid, where Zinedine Zidane will always be only two bad results away from a crisis, are another club that will ultimately look at Mourinho's trophy-winning credentials, even if they've had firsthand experience of how things can fall apart under his watch.
Even if Mourinho does land another big job sooner rather than later, his year out should be a warning that he needs to change and become less confrontational and divisive. Otherwise, his next big job might be his last.
After hazardous air-pollution levels threatened to disrupt the first T20I between India and Bangladesh in Delhi, there is the very real possibility of a cyclone affecting the next match of the series, in Rajkot on Thursday. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Maha is expected to make a landfall in Gujarat on November 6, and could cause "heavy or very heavy rains" in the state on November 7, the day of the match.
The good news, though, is that the cyclone "is very likely to intensify further till 5th November morning and weaken gradually thereafter", according to the IMD.
Positioned around central Arabian Sea on Monday morning, just over 600 kilometres from the coast of Gujarat, the cyclone has been moving north-west from close to the Kerala coast for the last five days. It is, however, expected to take a turn towards Gujarat on Tuesday.
The met authorities said that the cyclone had intensified into an Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm and is likely to cross the Gujarat coast around midnight on Wednesday or in the early hours of Thursday. Rajkot, in central Gujarat, is just over 100 kilometres from the coast.
ESCS MAHA centered near 18.3°N/64.6°E. about 670km WSW of Veraval(Gujarat) at 0830IST of 4th november. pic.twitter.com/q9HjLTU1Vz
"Severe cyclonic storm Maha lay centered at 580 kilometres southwest of Diu and 550 kms southwest of Veraval," IMD director Jayanta Sarkar told PTI. "It is most likely to intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm and make landfall between Dwarka and Diu on Wednesday night or early Thursday morning with wind speeds of 120 kilometres per hour.
"The storm will cause heavy to very heavy rains in Saurashtra [the region of which Rajkot is a part] and south Gujarat on November 6-7. It is moving towards Oman but will recurve towards Gujarat coast on Monday."
Bangladesh lead the series 1-0 after pulling off a seven-wicket win in the opening fixture.
India B 283 for 7 (Jadhav 86, Jaiswal 54, Vijay Shankar 45, Gowtham 35*, Porel 5-43) beat India C 232 for 9 (Garg 74, Axar 38, Saxena 37*, Nadeem 4-32, Siraj 2-43) by 51 runs
It was the best pitch of the competition, not as bat-first-win-game as the previous fixtures, but a six-and-a-half-over spell early on in India C's chase of India B's 283 for 7, in which they lost four wickets, put paid to their chances of winning the Deodhar Trophy 2019-20 final in Ranchi.
That meant Ishan Porel's five-for for India C went in vain, and Kedar Jadhav's 86 for India B proved to be the defining knock of the match.
India C managed to bat out their overs despite sinking to 77 for 5 in 18 overs - Mayank Agarwal, Virat Singh, Suryakumar Yadav and Dinesh Karthik the batsmen dismissed in that phase - but were always behind the eight-ball, never quite looking like they would pull off an unexpected win with their tail-enders in charge of doing the job with the bat.
Priyam Garg, the 18-year-old batsman, did his bit, seeing out the collapse and batting on till the 30th over for an impressive 74 in 77 balls, with eight fours and a six, but he fell swinging wildly at a Mohammed Siraj delivery that hit leg stump. And then it was over to Axar Patel and Jalaj Saxena, who scored 30s, and Mayank Markande, who played an enterprising innings of 27, to delay the inevitable.
That the chase went off the rails despite Agarwal and Garg adding 54 runs for the second wicket after captain Shubman Gill fell in the second over to Siraj was chiefly down to Shahbaz Nadeem. Agarwal hit Nadeem straight to K Gowtham at cover to fall for 28, and Nadeem then accounted for Yadav (bowled with an arm ball) and Karthik (lbw to another arm ball), while Virat was run out going for a non-existent second run.
It looked like India C were in the hunt, albeit briefly, while Garg and Axar were out there together, adding 63 for the sixth wicket. But it really was only a matter of time before something gave, and that came in the form of Garg's swing against Siraj. Axar was later run out in unfortunate circumstances when a Saxena drive brushed the fingers of Nitish Rana, the bowler, and hit the stumps at the non-striker's end with his bat on the crease. Saxena and Markande hung around, but the game was well over by that stage.
The first half of the match was about a number of good performances with the bat and one excellent show with the ball.
Porel set the ball rolling in the first over after Parthiv Patel won the toss and expectedly opted to bat, getting Ruturaj Gaekwad to edge one to Suryakumar Yadav at first slip to leave for a duck. Porel could have sent Parthiv back in his next over, but the edge flew towards first slip, Karthik flew across, and it went down.
Porel got his man in the ninth over of the innings, though, when he got the ball to angle across Patel and catch the outside edge for Karthik to pull off a sharp diving catch. That left India B at 28 for 2.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and B Aparajith, however, put up stiff resistance in their third-wicket partnership. Jaiswal was particularly impressive, playing some eye-catching drives, cuts and pulls, while Aparajith was more cautious, and the two added 45 runs before Saxena, with nine wickets in two games prior to this one, sent Aparajith back when he missed a full toss to be struck in front.
Jaiswal's half-century came up soon after, but he couldn't build on it, falling in the 25th over when he failed to keep a sweep off Axar down and holed out to Porel at deep fine-leg, his 54 coming from 79 balls with five fours and a six.
Jadhav took charge after that. Rana was just a bystander as the senior pro took on, and took apart, most of the India C bowlers, taking a special liking to Markande, whom he hit for all his four sixes in the innings, giving the young legspinner unflattering figures of 10-0-79-0.
Porel returned to put the brakes on with Rana's wicket, for 20 off 28 balls, but that brought Vijay Shankar to the middle, and between them, Jadhav and Vijay slammed 74 runs in the 9.2 overs they were together. While Jadhav continued to be enterprising, Vijay was positively ruthless, hitting four fours and two sixes in his 33-ball 45 before Porel was back in action, getting him to hit down to long-on.
The show wasn't over, though, as Gowtham walked in and smashed three fours and three sixes in his ten-ball innings, scoring 35 runs to well and truly put India B in the driver's seat going into the break even as Jadhav's innings ended in the final over, with Porel getting him to top-edge a pull to mid-off. Jadhav's 86 came off 94 balls, with four fours and four sixes.
Shamya Dasgupta is Senior Assistant Editor at ESPNcricinfo
Results from the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K, Istanbul Marathon, Priory Relays and more
A report on Sunday’s TCS New York City Marathon is here, while Saturday’s Saucony English Cross Country Relays coverage is here and other recent results are listed below.
Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K, New York, USA, November 2
Shannon Rowbury and Anthony Rotich claimed US 5km titles by winning the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K.
Rowbury held off Jessica Tonn to win in 15:43, with Tonn coming second in 15:44 followed by Emily Infeld in third in 15:47.
The men’s race was even closer as Rotich won by three tenths of a second ahead of Aaron Templeton, with both athletes timing 13:48, while Eric Jenkins was third in 13:50 and Shadrack Kipchirchir fourth in 13:54.
“This is my first time running here, I just became a US citizen earlier this year, and now this win is the biggest race and win of my career so far,” Rotich said.
Vodafone Istanbul Marathon, Turkey, November 3
Kenya’s Daniel Kibet started as a pacemaker but went on to win in a 2:09:44 course record ahead of Ethiopia’s Yitayal Atnafu in 2:09:58.
Hirut Tibebu (2:23:40) and Tigist Abayechew (2:24:15) claimed an Ethiopia one-two in the women’s race with Kenya’s Maurine Chepkemoi third in 2:24:16.
Beijing Marathon, China, November 3
Mathew Kipkoech Kisorio won in a course record of 2:07:06 as Solomon Kirwa Yego (2:09:45) and Emmanuel Rutto (2:10:15) completed a Kenya top three.
Ethiopia’s Sutume Asefa won the women’s race in 2:23:31 for a big victory ahead of China’s Li Zhixuan (2:29:06) and Ethiopia’s Mulu Seboka (2:29:09).
Marathon des Alpes-Maritimes Nice-Cannes, France, November 3
In wet conditions, Ethiopia’s Alemu Gemechu won in 2:10:57 from Kenya’s Robert Chemosin (2:11:07) and Ethiopia’s Habtamu Arga (2:11:26).
Completing an Ethiopian double, Alemitu Lemi won the women’s race in 2:37:44 ahead of Kenya’s Doris Changeywo in 2:38:17.
Priory Relays, Reigate, November 2
In challenging wet conditions, the fastest individual time for the second year was posted by Lee Caldwell (13:56) who took his Dorking & Mole Valley club to the front to retain the men’s title after Guildford had led for three legs.
Sophie Biggs, with the fourth fastest individual lap time, anchored Stragglers to victory in the women’s race ahead of last year’s winners Belgrave, who led the opening two laps.
Making her debut for Guildford, Carolyne Baxter posted the fastest women’s lap time of 16:16.
Read more from Tom Pollak’s report in the next AW magazine.
North London Championships, Wormwood Scrubs, November 2
Aaron McGrady and Laura Kaye completed a Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets double, also claiming top team prizes at the cross country event.
Run Tatton Park Half Marathon & 10k, Cheshire, November 2-3
Altrincham’s Mo Abu-Rezeq won both the 10km and half-marathon, clocking 30:18 to win the 10km on Saturday and 67:59 to win the half-marathon the following day.
Kirsty Longley of Liverpool Pembroke Sefton won the women’s 10km in 34:59, while her fellow W40 Margaret Beever of Stainland won the women’s half-marathon in 87:42.
He possesses 16,250 points taking him beyond that of Xu Xin’s 16,160 points.
Let the Fan spin!
Previously Fan Zhendong had occupied the no.1 position in the men’s world rankings issued for 15 consecutive editions – since March 2018.
However, a month later in July 2019, Xu Xin’s rise to the top brought an end to Fan’s reign. Fan dropped to third place.
It is highly intriguing to note the journey the 22-year-old has had and those around him over the past few months. Over the intervening period, after gaining the World no.1 position, Xu went on to confirm his supremacy by winning three consecutive gold medals at this year’s Japan, Korea and Australian Opens.
Meanwhile, Fan had several close run-ins during this time but proved unable to convert any of them. The semi-final exit in Hungary and then again in Japan made him contemplate his personal decisions at the table, especially because he was still winning consistently across the doubles – ironically with Xu Xin by his side in Japan, Korea and Sweden.
Nothing could keep Fan away from the top for too long.
The return (to summit) journey
Since winning the 2019 ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup in early April, Fan had endured a tough couple of months and was without a trophy on this year’s ITTF World Tour until last month.
However, his persistence and perseverance to reach the latter stages of every competition eventually paid off. At the 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum German Open in Bremen, Fan gained the mother of all opportunities to set things right when he faced Xu Xin in the final.
Previously, at the semi-final stage Xu had overcome Korea Republic’s Jeoung Youngsik in five games (11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-6) while Fan accounted for compatriot Liang Jingkun in a stunning comeback win (3-11, 11-8, 11-5, 4-11, 4-11, 11-6, 11-4).
All that remained was the top two seeds to clash and well, the fireworks reigned. After a match which spun every which way, Fan Zhendong returned to winning ways by beating Xu Xin (5-11, 11-8, 14-12, 11-7, 11-7) to claim his 12th ITTF World Tour men’s singles title – but his first appearance in such a final since he won in November 2018.
“This is an enormously important victory for me. I am overjoyed to have won against Xu Xin. Since we know each other so well it’s really hard for me to surprise him with anything. I never let up, always put pressure on him until the last rally. I had a lot of fun here, especially with this great crowd.” Fan Zhendong
It meant the German Open was Fan’s first singles’ title on the 2019 World Tour, his last victory tracing back to the 2018 Swedish Open. It put into perspective the manner with which Fan’s confidence had been shaken over the past year and how that clearly reflected in his play. What is heartening to see is how none of that has changed his mental strength and steel to overcome his challenges and challengers alike.
Speaking of which, the immediate challenges for Fan Zhendong will now be the ZEN-NOH 2019 ITTF Team World Cup with Team China, the 2019 ITTF Men’s World Cup and the 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum Austrian Open – all three happening within weeks of one another in November.
Perhaps this is the best time for Fan to be back at the summit – and announce his intentions to stay where he belongs.
I Dig® is a leading global brand that makes it more enjoyable to surf the internet, conduct transactions and access, share, and create information. Today I Dig®attracts millions of users every month.r
Phone: (800) 737. 6040 Fax: (800) 825 5558 Website: www.idig.com Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: 
Email: 
