DFS: 2015 NFL First-Half Awards - AFC

Well, that was a fun first half.

At the (approximate) midway point of the 2015 NFL season, the AFC East, North and West divisions each have one undefeated team sitting at 7-0. The AFC South has a combined nine wins, with the 3-5 Indianapolis Colts tied with the Houston Texans at the top of the table.

The Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans have a combined win percentage of .272. The entire division has a point differential of -150. Woof.

Aside from the New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos, only the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders reached the halfway point of the season with a record better than .500.

It's been a rough eight games for a conference that has lost RBs Arian Foster and Le'Veon Bell and WR Steve Smith Sr. for the season. Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (thumb) is also in danger of missing some serious time.

Still, plenty of positives have emerged from the dust and debris that is the American Football Conference standings. Let's take a look at the highlights of the first half of the 2015 NFL season with our AFC awards:

DFS Most Valuable Player: Gary Barnidge, TE, Cleveland Browns

Barnidge - A.K.A. Barnburneridge, A.K.A. Gary G.O.A.T.ridge - has as many top-five fantasy weeks at the tight end position as Tom Brady has at the quarterback position this year. And he hasn't even been accused of a single cheating scandal.

Barnidge needs just 36 more receiving yards to match his career total coming into 2015. Four more receptions will double his career mark coming into the season. He has already tripled his career touchdown receptions. All largely because QB Josh McCown (and QB Johnny Manziel) has targeted him 32 more times than he has been in his career.

Barnidge has scored 37.5% of all Browns' offensive touchdowns this season. He's still a relative bargain on Week 9's Thursday slate, despite not finishing outside the position's top five since Week 2. On two occasions he would have finished inside the top-10 at the wide receiver position, including what would've been a first-place finish in Week 5.

DFS Least Valuable Player: Peyton Manning, QB, Denver Broncos

Here is a non-exhaustive list of quarterbacks with at least one more top-10 fantasy week than Manning has this season:

But...

Manning hasn't finished above QB11 in any week. He's thrown at least one interception in every game this season, and he's gone without a touchdown pass on three occasions. He's on pace for just 14 touchdown passes, 13 fewer than he's ever thrown before. His 11 interceptions to date already match or exceed his total from six of his previous 16 NFL seasons.

In terms of passing yards allowed this season, only two of the Broncos' seven opponents to date rank in the top half of the league. Only two of their nine second-half games will come against an opponent ranking in the top half of the league.

Manning hasn't once proved worthy of his (still high) price tag, and he's unlikely to change that as the weather begins to worsen.

Rookie of the Year: Amari Cooper, WR, Oakland Raiders

Following the outstanding 2014 rookie class of wide receivers, fans and fantasy owners were both told to keep their expectations in check for 2015. Still...

That's not to take away from Cooper, as he has put together three top-20 fantasy weeks in PPR formats through the first seven games of his career. He's shown chemistry with QB Derek Carr, and has been relatively matchup proof. Although his lowest yardage totals of the season came against the New York Jets and Broncos, he had at least four receptions in both games.

Most Improved Player: DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans

Hopkins is just 14 targets shy of his total from 2014. His current pace of 14.25 targets per game have him on track to break that record in the Texans' Week 10 game against the Cincinnati Bengals and to set the all-time targets record, currently held by former Arizona Cardinals WR Rob Moore.

With his busy schedule trying to break those two records, he stopped to set a different record in Week 8's domination of the Tennessee Titans:

That record was previously held by current Indianapolis Colts WR Andre Johnson. Breaking it is no small feat.

With Foster out of the picture in Houston, and RBs Alfred Blue and Chris Polk proving to be inadequate runners, the massive workload will only continue for Hopkins.

Biggest Surprise: Andy Dalton, QB, Cincinnati Bengals

While getting the Bengals to 7-0, Dalton is on pace for a career year in nearly every statistical category, including a career low interceptions total. He turned in five top-10 fantasy weeks in his seven games, and before the Week 8 dud in a tough game against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, he hadn't finished lower than QB13.

Dalton is making excellent use of pass catchers A.J. Green, Marvin Jones and Tyler Eifert, while using RBs Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard to their respective strengths.

The Bengals will open the second half with consecutive prime-time games. If Dalton can handle the added pressure of national exposure, on top of a perfect record, he could finally vanquish the doubts that have plagued him his entire career.

Biggest Disappointment: Justin Forsett, RB, Baltimore Ravens

Coming off a breakout 2014 season, Forsett was expected to reach a new level of production in 2015, thanks to the Ravens' addition of offensive coordinator Marc Trestman. Trestman's presence in Chicago last season led to RB Matt Forte hauling in a career high receptions total, and his production was expected to loosely translate to Forsett in 2015.

While Forsett is on pace for career highs in receptions and targets, he's also on pace for a meager 284 receiving yards. His rushing yards and touchdowns are well below last season's record figures. He's been the clear No. 1 back in the Ravens' offense all season, but the team's struggles - coupled with his own - have left his 2015 season a disappointment thus far.

Best Single-Game Performance: Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans (Week 1, at Buccaneers)

Mariota burst onto the NFL scene with a wildly impressive four-touchdown performance in his first career game against QB Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Mariota finished 13-for-15 on the day, for 209 yards, four touchdowns and zero turnovers. He added six yards on the ground.

It's been a bumpy road since that point. Mariota has missed the past two games with a knee injury, and he had a 1:1 touchdown:interception ratio between Weeks 2 and 6.

Still, Mariota turned heads while finishing behind only Tom Brady and Carson Palmer with 25 fantasy points in Week 1. Given his near-minimum price for his debut, it was the most impressive DFS performance of the AFC's first half.

Worst Single-Game Performance: Keenan Allen, WR, San Diego Chargers (Week 2, at Bengals)

Allen's two receptions on four targets for 16 yards is bad enough on its own that it may still qualify for this title. Factor in that Allen caught 15 of 17 targets in Week 1 for 166 yards, and he's shoe-in for the title.

Allen has been wildly inconsistent all season, having surpassed 10 receptions and 130 yards on three occasions but also failing to record eight or more receptions and at least 75 yards in three other games.

Best Moment of the First Half of the 2015 Season: