Justin Whitner | Staff Writer
The NFL season has passed its halfway point, and no team is undefeated.
What will happen the rest of the way? Who will be the MVP?
It’s prediction time again.
The 49ers suffered their first defeat in a 27-24 overtime thriller against the Seattle Seahawks on Monday. That game was just the first tough matchup in the Niners’ schedule in the next 30 days. They play the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 24, the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 1 and the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 8. All three of those teams are potential Super Bowl contenders for the rest of the season.
“I see the 49ers losing four games the rest of the season,’’ Hampton University senior Kiatre Kately said. “Just look at their schedule and understand that these aren’t easy matchups anymore.”
In an Instagram survey asking 81 Hampton students to answer who would win the Super Bowl this season, 27 said the New England Patriots, 20 the 49ers and 19 the Saints.
The Patriots have the advantage in voting even after the 37-20 loss to MVP candidate Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. Although the Patriots have the most votes, the most well-rounded team in the league right now is the New Orleans Saints. They have one of the most efficient quarterbacks of all time back in Brees and the team will only improve with time.
In another Instagram poll asking Hampton students who they think would be their favorite to win the MVP, the votes were split between Jackson, the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson and the Carolina Panthers’ Christian McCaffery.
“I think Christian McCaffery has to get the MVP if he keeps this level of play going,’’ Carolina native Hunter Miles Davis said. “His numbers are the best by a running back I have seen since LaDainian Tomlinson. That speaks volumes.”
The other two candidates faced off Oct. 20. Jackson got the best of Wilson in Seattle, 30-16. Russell has the better numbers than Jackson throwing the ball, but Jackson’s running game is what can send him over the top. Jackson’s win against the Patriots while scoring three touchdowns put the world on notice that he is ready to take the next step with the Ravens.
The Hampton Script 