Giardi: NFL Notebook - Patriots midseason awards; plus, some big moves on trade deadline day

Technically, we just passed the midpoint of the NFL season. For the Patriots, they're now beyond that magical 50% number thanks to the 17-game NFL season, which, quite frankly, annoys the daylights out of me. How am I supposed to hand out midseason awards with an uneven number of games? Do I do it before the 9th game, or after? These are the things that keep me up at night. I need help. I'm aware. Anyway, I argued with myself, took a vote, and this week won. To these offbeat but illustrious honors (hat tip to Ron Burgundy for the inspiration).

The "I miss your musk" Award: Rhamondre Stevenson. 83 carries for 279 yards works out to a meager 3.4 yards per carry. And yes, we've been over the fumbles. That's not exactly what you're looking for, considering the contract and what the Pats need out of their run game overall. But generally, Stevenson is getting what's there and is averaging nearly 2.8 yards after contact, which would put him 21st in the league. Again, not ideal, but the Pats' line has only recently started to gain more consistency in this regard. Plus, it's official — Stevenson's their best back in pass protection by a country mile. Hurry back now, you hear. 

The "It's the pancake breakfast. We do it every month" Award: Efton Chism. Good story. Good kid. Nice preseason. Working his ass off week after week on the scout team. But I'd like for fans to stop asking when he's going to have his breakout game. He's 6th on the depth chart and is plodding on these kickoff returns. Maybe next year (someone alert 'Old Takes Exposed').

The "It's so damn hot. Milk was a bad choice" Award: Interim DC Zak Kuhr for leaving linebacker Robert Spillane isolated on De'Von Achane in the middle of the field way back in week 2. It went predictably poorly.

The "Rule number one - no touching of the hair and face" Award:  QB Drake Maye. He's a legit MVP candidate, makes several 'Wow' throws every week, and has given this franchise an incredible jolt. He's also tough as hell, but man, can they - and he - do a better job of keeping him clean? The fate of the season depends on it.

The "I'm kind of a big deal. People know me. I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany" Award: Say hello to John Streicher, or 'Stretch' as his friends call him. Vrabel's right-hand man, whose office is right next to the head coach, has his fingers in every piece of this pie. But unlike Ernie Adams, who flew under the radar for years, Streicher is frequently discussed on every broadcast and will likely be considered for major jobs in the coming cycle, should he wish to pursue them. Based on how Vrabel and fellow staffers talk about him, he deserves it.

The "60 Percent of the time, it works every time" Award: Rookie WR Kyle Williams. He's been targeted six times and has two catches. Okay, so the percentages don't match up to the quote, but you catch my drift. There is at least one snap a game where Williams gets open deep, whether that's schemed for him or happens because of his release and his speed. But he and Maye aren't on the same page. This weekend would be a good time to rectify that.

The "You're so wise. You're like a miniature Buddha, covered in hair" Award: Gotta be Mike Vrabel, who has already grown a mustache in like three days during Men's Health Awareness month. This quote also works because Vrabel has pushed the right buttons for a majority of the season, and has this team believing. 

The "Boy, that escalated quickly... I mean, that really got out of hand fast" Award: The whole team. 7-2? In this economy? The braintrust didn't think they'd be here. Hell, they tried to pump the brakes in mid-August. Even now and then, I sense some uneasiness with the growing expectations from the outside. Quite frankly, that's a great problem to have. Maye has been terrific. Different players are stepping up. And they still insist - and I would agree - that they haven't played their best ball yet.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T GET MY HUMOR

MVP: Maye. Duh.

Defensive Player of the Half Year: Spillane. A tackling machine. 

Rookie of the half-year: Will Campbell. Finding a higher level as a run blocker than we saw earlier in the season. The pass blocking is not perfect, but he's a talented kid.

Most Improved: Khyiris Tonga. Even the coaching staff didn't know he could be this.

Comeback Player: Stefon Diggs. He's slowed down some over the last month, but he's still impactful.

Positional coach of the half-year: Todd Downing. He'd never coached WRs full-time. It's going pretty well, and not just on the field, but the attitude adjustment that the room has undergone. That starts with Vrabel, but Downing deserves credit too.

WILD DAY

No more half measures for the Jets. They put the 'For Sale' sign up weeks ago and moved two of their cornerstone players, Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams, for a haul of draft picks (3 firsts and a second) that allows them to control the board in both 2026 and 2027. Of course, that's no guarantee first-year GM Darren Moughey will hit, but at 1-7, management felt it was time to embrace a hard reset even if they won't publicly admit it.

“I wouldn’t call it a tear-down,” Mougey said.

Umm, say what? Mougey signed Gardner to a massive contract extension just three months ago, and Williams had previously been as untouchable as any player on the roster. But with another season in disarray, and no sign of a franchise quarterback, the Jets now have the ammunition to find one. And let's face it, if they're going to compete in the AFC East with Josh Allen and up-and-comer Maye, plus think about the big picture that includes Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and Justin Herbert, trying to find a second-chance signal caller like Justin Fields won't cut it. 

The Jets could have done even more. Teams were picking at their carcass, trying to pry wide receiver Garrett Wilson, edge rusher Jermaine Johnson, running back Breece Hall, and Quinnen's brother, linebacker Quincy Williams. In fact, according to reports, the Cowboys thought they were closing in on a deal to add both the Williams brothers before that trade stalled, but only Quinnen ended up in Dallas. 

“When you get to the deadline, you have your set values,” Mougey said. “You’re set on what these players are really worth and what you might be willing to do to part ways with them. We got to today (Tuesday), and we had these offers that we just felt were too good for the team, and we made that with Sauce and Quinnen.”

There's plenty of chatter that Gardner, in particular, wasn't playing as well as the contract says he should. That would be false. Opposing signal callers rarely throw in his direction, and when they do, per TruMedia, no corner has been better in terms of snaps per reception. Defending the pass is the number one job of a cornerback, and the 25-year-old is elite. Gardner's arrival in Indianapolis for the first two firsts changes the equation for one of the NFL's most surprising teams. It represents a massive upgrade over what they've been running out at corner opposite Charvarius Ward. Things were so bad for the Colts at CB that they signed Xavien Howard, who didn't play last season, and he was so bad this season that he retired a second time. It also lets the rest of the locker room know management believes that this 7-2 start is real.

"His resume speaks for itself - Pro Bowler, All-Pro," Colts coach Shane Steichen said of Gardner. "It's a huge move, and we got a lot of belief in our football team. When you make moves like that, it's huge. It boosts the confidence of everybody, and our football team is in a good spot. And my message to the guys is the same every day, we gotta get better every day and focus on today and not worry about the future." 

That move was the first of two by the Jets, with Williams coming closer to the 4 PM deadline. Jets personnel will tell you that Williams was both asking for another contract extension (he signed one two and a half years ago) while telling others he couldn't live in this perpetual rebuild (7 years in, and no winning seasons). Yet, even in his unhappiness, the defensive tackles called a defense-only meeting before the team's trip to London, wanting more effort and accountability from that group. And it wasn't just talk. Williams was walking the walk behind the scenes. 

“I’m hungry to win,” Williams said upon arrival in Dallas. “That’s the main thing. Like I said at the beginning, I’m an ultimate competitor, man. Everything I do is about winning. Everything I do, everything I work. When I wake up, man, I just want to win. That kind of forms my ego. I can do anything the coaches ask me to do if it’s going to get us a win.”

I tweeted that Patriots center Garrett Bradbury had to be psyched he wouldn't have to face Williams twice over the back half of the season. How well respected is the former Jets anchor? The guy Bradbury replaced, David Andrews, felt compelled to weigh in.

Williams is joining a Cowboys team that is 3-5-1 after their Monday night loss to the Cardinals. He is their second high-profile addition on the defensive interior. Kenny Clark is the other. Of course, getting Clark meant parting ways with Micah Parsons in that blockbuster deal with Green Bay, a trade that, to this point, has not been beneficial to Dallas. Time will tell if acquiring the 28-year-old Williams helps turn the tide for Dallas.

MEANWHILE...

Quincy Williams' week didn't get any better after his brother got traded, and he didn't. The team informed him that he had been benched for poor play.

"My coaches told me I was underperforming, that I've been underperforming since training camp," Williams said.

Is that the most-Jet thing ever? Moughey knew the coaching staff was going to reduce Williams' role, and yet he didn't move him for something? Anything? A bag of kicking tees? A gift card to one of those Jersey diners where you can get all the pancakes you can eat, but wash them down with a Modelo? Nope. Nothing. 

"I'm not thrilled about it, but it's one of those things where I'm not mad about it because they told me what I need to get better at," the free agent to be said (Yeah, that's right. Williams isn't under contract beyond this season).

Finally, to wrap up the Jet experience, let me share a gem from first-year head coach Aaron Glenn, uttered after this flurry of activity.

"I want this to be a team that the fans are proud of, but again, I never said they were going to be proud of them right now," Glenn said.

QUESTIONS FOR QUINN    

Don't count me as someone who thinks the Washington Commanders were foolish for how they approached this season. GM Adam Peters believed they had a real opportunity to build on last season's surprising run to the NFC Championship and invested free-agent dollars and draft capital to add to that roster. It hasn't worked. In fact, the Commanders have had a season from hell, and it continued during Sunday night's lopsided loss to the Seahawks. 

Head coach Dan Quinn elected to leave Jayden Daniels in the game down 38-7 in the 4th quarter. Lo and behold, the second-year QB was sacked trying to scramble and dislocated his non-throwing left elbow. He will miss multiple weeks, at the very least. Quinn's decision has been called into question. To his credit, he didn't run from the criticism.

"I just missed it," Quinn said. "That is 100% on me."

Daniels has already missed time this season due to a knee injury (2 games) and, more recently, a hamstring strain. The coaching staff was hoping to get him one more series of work in before calling it a night.

"The hindsight part is the hardest one," Quinn said. "That's what I think about all night and nonstop."

There were no QB runs called during that series, but asking mobile, athletic signal callers to remain in the pocket is one thing. Having them do it another.

"Honestly, that's where I missed it," Quinn said. "Of course, he scrambled. It's Jayden. It's what he's special at."

Despite being 3-6 and having interest in a couple of their players (Deebo Samuel, Von Miller), the Commanders chose to not make any trades. They currently have the sixth most cap space of any team heading into the offseason, with over $96 million available (the Patriots are 10th at $67 million, according to OverTheCap).

WISH GRANTED

On Sunday, the Raiders lost to the Jaguars in overtime, 30-29. Less than 48 hours later, Vegas finally granted Jakobi Meyers his season-long wish, trading him to...drum roll...the Jags. Had Meyers only known.

“I was just talking crazy to some people (Jags players) and have to come in here and see them,” Meyers laughed. “ What do you do when you say that?"

Sorry? I was just kidding? None of it matters now. Meyers was at practice on Wednesday and is expected to be active this weekend in Houston. His presence should come as a boost to a wide receiver room that is ailing. Travis Hunter (knee) is on IR, Brian Thomas has an ankle issue, Dyami Brown suffered a concussion, and Tim Patrick missed the Raiders game with a groin injury.

“The exact challenge is the balance of how much he can handle, how quickly he can get some of the formations down, the timing obviously,” Liam Coen said. “It’ll really come down to just what are the things specific that we want to get him in the flow of the game."

Meyers, who cost a 4th and 6th rounder, brings a skillset that has been missing from the Jaguars. They lead the league in drops with 19. Meanwhile, Meyers has only dropped 11 passes in his eight-year career.

“We’re looking forward to seeing how his skill set fits within the system,” GM James Gladstone said. “Just from afar, it does. You think about where we’re at in terms of volume of drops. What’s his superpower? It’s not dropping the football.”

Meyers has 33 catches for 352 yards in seven games. He's only dropped one ball. Meanwhile, Thomas leads the NFL with nine.

NERD NUMBERS

- Drake Maye has had 200+ passing yards and a 100+ passer rating in each of his last 8 games. That's tied for the 2nd-longest such streak within a season in NFL history. Only Aaron Rodgers (12 games in 2011 MVP season) has had a longer such streak. 

- Caleb Williams is on pace for 4,072 pass yards and 26 pass TD in 2025. Williams is looking to become the first QB in Bears history with 4,000+ passing yards or 30+ pass touchdowns in a single season.

- Last weekend, Tyler Shough became the 9th different QB to start a game for the Saints since Drew Brees retired following the 2020 season. That's tied for 2nd-most with NYG and NYJ. Only Cleveland has had more with (12).

- The Saints have only had five wins from rookie QBs in franchise history. That's the fewest by any active franchise since 1950, when QB starts were first tracked. Those wins came courtesy of Archie Manning (3 in 1971), Larry Cipa (1 in 1974), and Dave Wilson (1 in 1981).

- Abdul Carter has 0.5 sacks, 8 QB hits, and 1 TFL in 2025 (3rd overall pick in 2025). The Giants edge rusher has 20 quick QB pressures in 2025, per Next Gen Stats (3rd in NFL). Carter also has 34 total QB pressures in 2025, NGS (T-9th most in NFL).

- The Bills have the NFL’s #1 total offense in 2025 (385.5 total YPG).  The franchise has never had the #1 total offense in a season under Allen, and the last team they finished tops in the league was in 1991 (lost Super Bowl XXVI).

- The Dolphins have the NFL’s 27th-ranked total offense in 2025, down from being the top-ranked total offense two seasons ago in 2023.

- Jaylen Waddle has 24 receptions, 401 yards, and 2 TDs since Week 5 (Tyreek Hill sustained a season-ending injury in Week 4).

- Breece Hall has averaged 94.9 scrimmage YPG in 2025 (9th-most in NFL).

-  Sam Darnold is on pace to join Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Patrick Mahomes, and Aaron Rodgers as the only QBs since 1950 to do the following in consecutive seasons: win 75+ pct of games, average 250+ passing YPG, and have a 100+ passer rating.