LAS VEGAS — Live updates from the “NFL Honors” awards show, where the Associated Press NFL MVP, Coach of the Year and more will be revealed:
Will Anderson Jr. won the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year award, outgaining both Jalen Carter and Kobie Turner by two first-place votes.
The Texans’ defensive end received 16 first-place votes, 21 second and eight thirds for 151 points.
Carter, the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive tackle, and Turner, the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive tackle, both had 14 first-place votes. Carter also had 14 seconds and ended up with 122 points. Turner had six second-place votes and seven thirds, finishing with 95 points.
Anderson had seven sacks, 67 pressures, 22 quarterback hits, 29 tackles, including 10 for a loss. He also had a blocked field goal on special teams.
Anderson joined teammate C.J. Stroud, who was the AP’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Anderson and Stroud are the fourth teammates to win the offensive and defensive rookie awards in the same season. Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner swept the awards last year for the New York Jets. Alvin Kamara and Marshon Lattimore did it with the Saints in 2017 and Detroit’s Mel Farr and Lem Barney did it in 1967.
Stroud and Anderson were selected back-to-back with the second and third picks in the NFL draft.
Myles Garrett beat out T.J. Watt for the AP Defensive Player of the Year award.
Cleveland’s All-Pro edge rusher received 23 first-place votes and 165 points to Watt’s 19 first-place votes and 140 points.
Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons finished third with 89 points, including seven first-place votes. Cornerback DaRon Bland, Parson’s teammate, got the other first-place vote and came in fifth behind Raiders edge Maxx Crosby.
Watt, who won the award in 2021, led the NFL with 19 sacks. But Garrett had the better all-around season for the NFL’s top-ranked defense. Despite constant double-teams, Garrett had 14 sacks, 30 quarterback hits, 17 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and forced offensive coordinators to avoid his side of the field.
C.J. Stroud won the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award in a landslide.
The Houston Texans’ quarterback received 48 of 50 first-place votes with Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua getting the other two.
Nacua set a rookie record with 105 receptions and 1,486 yards receiving yards.
Lions tight end Sam LaPorta finished third.
Stroud helped Houston go from worst to first place in the AFC South and led the Texans to a playoff win in the wild-card round.
Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick, threw for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, five interceptions and had a passer rating of 100.8, third-best by a rookie.
Stroud led the league in passing yards per game (273.9) and had the best touchdown-interception ratio at 4.6, becoming just the third player in NFL history to finish first in both categories, joining Joe Montana (1989) and Tom Brady (2007).
Comedian and emcee Keegan-Michael Key took aim at Jerry Jones, backup quarterbacks and of course, Taylor Swift during his opening monologue.
“Who’d have thought we’d see a year where Taylor Swift went to more playoff games than Bill Belichick?” he asked.
Key mentioned that Swift is currently in Tokyo, performing in front sold-out crowds.
“The only people further from the Super Bowl are the Carolina Panthers,” Key said.
Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz won the AP Assistant Coach of the Year award after guiding the league’s No. 1 ranked unit.
Schwartz received 25 first-place votes and finished with 160 points, easily outpacing Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.
Macdonald got 11 first-place votes and 94 points. Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson finished third with 65 points, including six first-place votes.
Schwartz was in his first season in Cleveland. He was previously an assistant in Tennessee, Philadelphia and Buffalo after coaching the Lions from 2009-13.
A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league completed voting for the winners before the playoffs began.
This was the second year for the AP’s weighted voting system.
Voters chose a top five for MVP and top three for all other awards. For MVP, first-place votes were worth 10 points. Second through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points. For all the other awards, first-place votes equaled 5 points, second were 3 and third were 1.
New England Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona walked the red carpet in a Navy uniform.
He is the USAA 2023 Salute to Service award winner. Cardona is a department head of Maritime Security Squadron 8, headquartered in Newport, Rhode Island, and oversees the logistical needs of 500 sailors across the Eastern Seaboard.
Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud is a finalist for AP Offensive Rookie of the Year after he led the Texans to the divisional round of the playoffs.
“There are a lot of great players, a lot of great rookies,” Stroud said. “I’m honored to be on there.”
New York Jets owner Woody Johnson decided to bring back coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas for next season despite clamoring from many fans and media to make changes.
The Jets went 7-10 this season. They never truly recovered from losing quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the season opener. With Rodgers expected back next season, there will be heightened scrutiny on Saleh and Douglas.
“We can’t make wrong decisions,” Johnson said.
Speaking from the “NFL Honors” red carpet, New England cornerback Jonathan Jones says he doesn’t think former Patriots coach Bill Belichick is done. Belichick, a six-time Super Bowl champion, did not get hired for another coaching job after he parted ways with the Patriots at the end of last season.
“Teams are going to need him,” Jones said.
The Associated Press MVP, Coach of the Year and more will be revealed Thursday night at the “NFL Honors” awards show at the Resorts World Theater in Las Vegas.
“NFL Honors” will air on CBS and NFL Network and be available for streaming on Paramount+ and NFL+. The red carpet opens at 7 p.m. ET, and the show itself begins at 9 p.m. ET.
Eight Associated Press NFL awards will be handed out Thursday night at “NFL Honors.” Here are the finalists:
AP MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
-Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
-Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
-Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
-Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
-Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
AP COACH OF THE YEAR
-Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions
-John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens
-DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans
-Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers
-Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns
AP ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR
-Ben Johnson, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator
-Mike Macdonald, Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator
-Todd Monken, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator
-Jim Schwartz, Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator
-Bobby Slowik, Houston Texans offensive coordinator
AP OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
-Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
-Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
-CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
-Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
-Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
AP DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
-DaRon Bland, Dallas Cowboys
-Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders
-Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns
-Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys
-TJ Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers
AP COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR
-Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns
-Damar Hamlin, Buffalo Bills
-Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
-Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
-Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
-Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
-Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
-Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
-Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
-C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
-Will Anderson, Houston Texans
-Jalen Carter, Philadelphia Eagles
-Joey Porter Jr., Pittsburgh Steelers
-Kobie Turner, Los Angeles Rams
-Devon Witherspoon, Seattle Seahawks
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson finished the season as the betting favorite to win AP NFL MVP, per FanDuel Sportsbook. It would be Jackson’s second MVP award, and he’d join exclusive company in that regard. The 27-year-old would be the fourth two-time winner before turning 28, matching Patrick Mahomes (27), Brett Favre (27) and Jim Brown (22).
The Super Bowl-bound 49ers have two MVP finalists in quarterback Brock Purdy and running back Christian McCaffrey, while Jackson’s Ravens were eliminated by Kansas City in the AFC championship game. Voting for MVP and the other AP NFL awards closed before the playoffs began.
AP NFL MVP finalist Brock Purdy will lead the 49ers to another comeback victory on Sunday, ruining the Chiefs’ bid to repeat as Super Bowl champions, says AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi.
The 49ers are 2 1/2-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. They’re quite familiar with that role having been favored to win each game this season.
In the previous 57 Super Bowls, the favorites are 36-21 straight up and 27-28-2 against the spread. Maaddi leans slightly toward the 49ers in a close one that comes down to Purdy having to lead the team to a comeback win for the third straight game.
Keegan-Michael Key is back as “NFL Honors” host for the third time. The former “Key & Peele” co-star is well-known to football fans for his sketch-comedy turns as audaciously named college players Hingle McCringleberry and Quatro Quatro, among others.
When Key hosted in 2022, he cracked a joke about Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ struggles in that year’s AFC championship game – a dig that prompted a glowering look from KC teammate Travis Kelce. Neither Mahomes or Kelce are up for any awards this season.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Source link
