Best comebacks for the 2018 NFL season

J.J. Watt, Defensive End, Houston Texans  

It was a slow start for the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, who, believe it or not, told the NBC "Sunday Night Football" announcers he felt forgotten after missing 24 of 32 games over the last two years because of various injuries. 

But Watt is dominant again, and he is not only a candidate for this award but also for what would be an unprecedented fourth Defensive Player of the Year honor. 

Watt is top five in the league and is tied for the AFC lead with 10.0 sacks. All 10 of those have come in the last eight contests since Watt posted 3.0 sacks against the New York Giants in Week 3. 

He also has 36 tackles, including 12 tackles for loss and 17 quarterback hits. 

Andrew Luck, Quarterback, Indianapolis Colts 

Because of what he’s gone through, the 29-year-old might be the biggest favorite in this race. He missed all of last season because of a shoulder injury and played just 21 games in 2015 and 2016 combined. 

He started slowly this year, but since Week 4, Luck has 24 touchdowns vs. just six interceptions. The Colts running game has certainly helped, but in the last six games, Luck is also averaging a healthy 7.68 yards per attempt. He just had his best game on Sunday, throwing for 297 yards and three touchdowns against the stout Titans defense. 

In total, Luck has 2,769 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and nine interceptions this year. 

Deshaun Watson, Quarterback, Houston Texans 

Talk about another slow starter, Watson didn’t quite look like himself to begin this season. Some credited it to coming back from an ACL tear, but then others pointed out that maybe he was anointed too quickly during his rookie season. 

Both were probably true, but Watson is rolling now. Since throwing an interception in the first six games, Watson has nine touchdowns and just two interceptions in the last four. During the Texans’ seven-game winning streak, he has 13 touchdowns and six interceptions while posting an average of 8.50 yards per pass attempt. 

Watson is ranked eighth in the yards per attempt category and has 2,597 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions this season. 

Adrian Peterson, Running Back, Washington Redskins 

Considering he wasn’t even on a roster until the middle of August, Peterson has definitely experienced one of the best comebacks this year. Last season, he didn’t fit in with the New Orleans Saints. Then after a trade to Arizona and a couple of big games with the Cardinals, Peterson missed the last two months of the season with a serious neck injury. 

But the 33-year-old has proved with Washington that he isn’t ready for retirement just yet. In 10 games he has rushed for 723 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 4.2 yards per carry. 

He’s recorded two 100-yard games this season, and he has rushed for at least 95 yards in three other contests. Peterson is on pace to post his eighth career 1,000-yard rushing season. 

Odell Beckham Jr., Wide Receiver, New York Giants 

The All-Pro wide receiver hasn’t been able to stay away from controversy, but he’s putting up great numbers again after suffering a nasty broken ankle last year. 

Through 10 games, Beckham has 932 receiving yards and five touchdowns, three of which he caught in the last two weeks. He’s also thrown a touchdown pass to Saquon Barkley.

Beckham has recorded five 100-yard receiving days this year. He had only four such performances in his previous 20 games. 

Jaylon Smith, Linebacker, Dallas Cowboys  

Smith is the only player to make our list who didn’t miss a portion of last season because of injury, but the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award isn’t reserved to just players returning from injury. In 2013, Philip Rivers took home the honor after simply underperforming the previous season. 

So there’s a precedent that would allow Smith to garner some votes. With the year he’s having, he would be worthy of the honor as well. 

Through nine games, Smith is second for the Cowboys with 73 tackles, including five for a loss. He also has 3.0 sacks. 

Not bad for a player who suffered such a bad knee injury two years ago that there was concern that he would never play again. 

Carson Wentz, Quarterback, Philadelphia Eagles 

If not for a season-ending knee injury at the beginning of December last year, Wentz likely would have led the Philadelphia Eagles to their first Super Bowl title and won NFL MVP. Although this season hasn’t been nearly as great (he and the Eagles certainly took one on the chin Sunday at New Orleans), he’s made one of the best comebacks. 

Even including the rough outing against the Saints, Wentz's numbers are better. His completion percentage is up an astonishing 9 percent, which has led to a slight increase in his yards per attempt average. 

Furthermore, in six of his eight games, he’s thrown multiple touchdowns. In eight contests, Wentz has 2,304 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. 

Richard Sherman, Cornerback, San Francisco 49ers 

He isn’t the same player he once was, but Sherman is still pretty good at shutting down an entire side of a field. According to Pro Football Focus, he leads all cornerbacks in cover snaps per target and cover snaps per reception. 

Sherman doesn’t have an interception yet, but that could be contributed mostly to quarterbacks taking advantage of the coverage on the opposite side of the San Francisco defense. He does have 21 tackles, including three for a loss and one quarterback hit. 

Aaron Rodgers, Quarterback, Green Bay Packers 

At the beginning of the season, most probably expected Rodgers to run away with the No. 1 spot on our list. And why not, because he’s won every other award. 

But whether it’s been due to poor mobility because of his knee injury, average wide receiver play or bad coaching, Rodgers isn’t having the MVP-type season that we’re used to seeing from him. 

And yet, through 10 games, his numbers are still pretty incredible. He’s thrown 19 touchdowns with just one interception and is averaging 8.0 yards per attempt. 

Jason Peters, Offensive Tackle, Philadelphia Eagles 

While it’s unlikely an offensive lineman would win the NFL Player of the Year award, I wanted to give some love to a guy in the trenches. 

Peters is a two-time All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle. The Eagles won the Super Bowl without him, but they deeply missed him during the second half of 2017 on their quarterback's blindside. 

In Week 7 last year, Peters tore his right MCL and ACL, but at 36, he returned to his starting left tackle spot in 2018.