NFL: Each team’s MVP from Week 9
By Joe Kipp
San Francisco 49ers, Nick Mullens
Who? Before Week 9, 99.9 percent of the population had never even heard of this guy. Nick Mullens was supposed to be a one-week fill in for current starter C.J. Beathard, but after Thursday night’s performance against the Oakland Raiders, head coach Kyle Shanahan may have a tough time keeping Mullens out of the starting lineup.
In fact, Mullens was so good that, according to Ian Rapoport, the Thursday night star is likely to start in Week 10 against the New York Giants.
In his first career start against the Raiders (the first rookie to record their first career start on a Thursday night game since the 1970 NFL merger, according to FOX’s broadcast), he tossed for 262 yards and three touchdowns while going 16-for-22 passing. He was never supposed to be this good, but with the help of Shanahan’s playcalling and tight end George Kittle’s heroics, Mullens’ was on point all night. His efforts helped lead the 49ers to a 34-3 victory.
Oakland Raiders, Rodney Hudson
There isn’t much good to say about the Oakland Raiders, who appear to headed for a full rebuild under first-year head coach Jon Gruden – which became even more clear after he urged general manager Reggie McKenzie to trade away Oakland’s best players, Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper.
But he Raiders road to misery started way before the season even started. During the offseason, Gruden wanted to go out and sign veteran players, in an effort to look like Oakland was in win-now mode. In reality, they became the oldest roster by far, a sure sign that Gruden knew what he was doing when it happened.
#Raiders center Rodney Hudson did not allow a pressure in 34 pass block snaps in Week 9, and has allowed 0 pressures in 7 of 8 games this season ☠️
— PFF Las Vegas Raiders (@PFF_Raiders) November 3, 2018
For the year, Hudson's 80.5 overall grade ranks 2nd among centers, and his 89.1 pass blocking grade ranks 1st ⚓️
#RaiderNation
Against the 49ers, Oakland looked completely inept in all phases of the game, with the lone exception on the offensive line. Center Rodney Hudson was a warrior in pass protection, and did not allow a single pressure in 34 pass blocking snaps. In fact, Hudson has been so good this year that he’s allowed zero pressures in seven out of eight games played; it’s just been hard to notice amidst the rest of Oakland’s chaos. Hudson is quietly putting together an All-Pro caliber season.