Week 9 of the NFL campaign is almost over, with only a stylistic clash between the high-octane Buffalo Bills offence and the stout-as-they-come Minnesota Vikings defence remaining on the slate.
At the conclusion of that game, the regular season will officially be halfway to its conclusion.
That's as good a time as any, and a large enough sample size from which to start pontificating about just who the players most likely to feature in award discussions are going to be.
Whether it be for output that looks set to re-write record books, or for the sheer ability to keep a side decimated by injury competitive, we count down five players charting a course to the NFL's most prized individual honour; the Most Valuable Player gong.
4. Brock Purdy
In a similar vein to Love, Purdy is up against a mammoth workload this season, given the unenviable suite of injuries sustained by his San Francisco teammates.
Even before rookie defensive tackle Gracen Halton left the side's win over the Las Vegas Raiders with a season-ending broken ankle, the Bay Area natives' laundry list of inactives was hardly comforting for fans of the storied franchise.
Purdy is throwing to a receiving corps held together with masking tape and prayers, with Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel and Christian Kirk unavailable.
On the other side of the ball, the Niners' secondary has been decimated, with Nate Hobbs, Upton Stout, Deommodore Lenoir and Renardo Green under clouds of varying severity.
Yet the Niners are 7-1 - a record only made possible by the play of Purdy and two of his most trusted weapons in Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle.
Purdy boasts a 17-5 TD-INT ratio and 1980 yards at a very efficient completion percentage of 69 per cent.
Very healthy numbers, in the league's most competitive division.
