Christian McCaffrey is San Francisco 49ers’ real MVP

Around the AFC

Herbert’s fading star. Oh, how the world has turned on Justin Herbert. A year ago, the Chargers quarterback received MVP votes after leading his team to the playoffs. Seven months later, he signed the richest contract in NFL history in terms of average salary ($52.5 million). Now, he’s the chic pick as the league’s most overrated QB, with critics pointing to his admittedly so-so record (30-32) as an NFL starter. Of course, the Chargers took the field without him Thursday night, and it was hard not to come away from that debacle — hello, 63-21 loss in Las Vegas — feeling like Herbert is the least of that franchise’s problems. At the top of that laundry list? How about since-fired head coach Brandon Staley, who never saw a fourth down he didn’t want to go for?

Anyone wanna win this? Don’t look now, but the AFC is completely up for grabs. The defending champion Chiefs can no longer catch footballs (or line up onside). Miami just choked away a double-digit fourth-quarter lead to a rookie quarterback (Will Levis). Jacksonville has lost two in a row — both to backup quarterbacks. And we’ve gotta see it in the playoffs from Lamar Jackson and Baltimore before we actually believe it. With the NFL’s top three teams (San Francisco, Dallas and Philadelphia) all residing in the NFC, it’s starting to feel an awful lot like the 1980s around here. And we all know who tended to rep the AFC in the Super Bowl back in those days.

Flacco’s aflame. Remember when Joe Flacco was John Elway’s answer at quarterback? Perhaps if the Broncos would’ve got the version currently slinging the rock for Cleveland, Vic Fangio would still be walking the practice fields at Dove Valley. OK, we kid. Still, the 38-year-old Flacco has sure turned back the clock over the past two weeks — both starts. While his numbers (565 yards on 55.1% passing) aren’t blowing anyone’s socks off, he did enough to take down AFC South leader Jacksonville last week. Given the Browns’ record (8-6) and schedule (vs. Chicago, at Houston, vs. N.Y. Jets and at Cincinnati), there’s a real possibility he’ll get another shot at the playoffs, where the Elite One is 10-5 with a Super Bowl ring. Time to stock up on Icy Hot in The Land.

Around the NFC

It’s McCaffrey, folks. At the risk of offending former Post sports editor Scott Monserud (a proud Iowa State Cyclone), quarterback Brock Purdy isn’t what makes the San Francisco 49ers special. That would be coach Kyle Shanahan; receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk; tight end George Kittle; and, yes, Valor Christian’s own Christian McCaffrey. The 49ers have played 24 regular-season games since they traded for McCaffrey last fall. Their record since then? A tidy 20-4. This was a team that was so good, the infinitely average Jimmy Garoppolo consistently won games with them. In fact, he was 5-1 with McCaffrey at running back last year, and 2-2 without him. And one of those losses was to Nathaniel Hackett’s Broncos (Yikes!). So if you want to look for an MVP from the Bay Area, look no further than McCaffrey. You know, the guy with 1,614 total yards, 17 touchdowns and the sort of unique, multidimensional game that unlocks an entire offense.

Windy City winners. If the Bears could’ve held on to a 21-point second-half lead against the Broncos in Week 4, they’d be in the thick of the NFC playoff race right now at 6-7. While that might say something about the bottom of the NFC (it’s bad, friends), it also says something about the job coach Matt Eberflus has done to pull his team back from 0-4. Quarterback Justin Fields is looking like he might be worth keeping around. And even if he falters down the stretch, Chicago still has the Carolina Panthers’ first-round pick, which is just about a lock to be No. 1 overall. Not a bad spot to be in. Not bad at all.