The 49ers are one of two undefeated teams left in the NFL with a quarter of the season down. Their dominance at the de facto quarter mark (the 17-game season messed up the mathematical symmetry) has them well-represented in quarter season awards dolled out by ESPN’s Bill Barnwell.
Barnwell does a deep dive on his top three options at a variety of awards including Coach of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, rookies of the year and MVP.
Buy 49ers TicketsSan Francisco has a pair of winners and a runner up after a quarter of the season:
Coach of the Year
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan beats out Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel and Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans. Both of the runner ups are former 49ers assistants under Shanahan, which is part of the reason San Francisco’s head coach gets the nod.
Barnwell points out all the things San Francisco is doing well on the field, but drives his selection home with a deeper dive into Shanahan’s impact on one of the NFL’s two undefeated teams:
What puts Shanahan over the top is how well his team is doing, even after losing so many coaches and front office executives over the past two seasons. In addition to losing the other two coaches in this top three, he lost another offensive voice this season when Ryans brought Bobby Slowik to Houston to serve as his offensive coordinator. Even with those coaches excelling elsewhere, the 49ers haven’t skipped a beat.
Offensive Player of the Year
This one belongs to 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, who doesn’t get any love in the MVP discussion (more on this later). McCaffrey leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage and is tied for the league lead in total touchdowns. He’s scored at least one TD in all four games and his presence has helped elevate others in San Francicso’s offense.
It’s clear that McCaffrey is creating plays in the run game that go beyond the typical Shanahan RB production, and his threat as a receiver allows the 49ers head coach to bend defenses in essentially any way he wants. McCaffrey is the runaway OPOY at this point, but Barnwell thinks he’ll make his way to the MVP conversation if he keeps up his current pace:
If we’re going to play the projection game, McCaffrey is on pace for 1,950 rushing yards, 599 receiving yards and 30 touchdowns from scrimmage. If he keeps that up and challenges the 2,000-rushing yard barrier, he will have to be in the MVP discussion. He’s playing the same way LaDainian Tomlinson did when the Chargers legend won MVP in 2006.
MVP
The MVP award at the quarter mark goes to Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa. 49ers QB Brock Purdy is sitting just behind him at No. 2 though according to Barnwell.
It’s been difficult for some analysts to separate Purdy from Shanahan and the offensive weapons around him, but that’s ultimately not going to matter come MVP voting. If Purdy keeps up his current pace and completes 72 percent of his throws for 4,331 yards with 21 touchdowns and minimal interceptions (he has zero through four weeks) while quarterbacking the top seed in the NFC, it’ll be hard to keep him out of the conversation come voting time. Via Barnwell:
Given that Purdy is leading the league in QBR and adjusted yards per attempt and has had the 49ers in position for double-digit leads in the fourth quarter of each of their first four games, should we be blaming him for killing off games before the final few drives? He’s tied for 32nd in passes thrown in the fourth quarter because the job has been done, not because the 49ers don’t want him to throw. Even with some sort of Shanahan/McCaffrey discount, Purdy has been one of the league’s best quarterbacks.
