Patrick Mahomes dominated voting for the AP NFL Most Valuable Player award. Now, he will try to break the MVP curse.
Mahomes, who also won in 2018, easily edged out Jalen Hurts, receiving 48 of 50 first-place votes from a national panel of media members who regularly cover the league. He won 490 points to 193 for Hurts, who received one first-place vote, 26 seconds, 11 thirds and 10 fourths.
Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs (16-3) face Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles (16-3) in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
The last nine MVPs to play in the Super Bowl that season are 0-9. Kurt Warner was the last player to win both the MVP award and the Super Bowl after the 1999 season.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen received the other first-place vote, finishing third with 151 points. Bengals QB Joe Burrow finished fourth and Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson came in fifth.
Mahomes, 27, is the third player to win his second MVP before turning 28, joining Brett Favre (27) and Jim Brown (22).
Mahomes was the 2018 NFL MVP in his first full season as a starter.
The Chiefs lost the AFC championship game that season, but Mahomes led them to a Super Bowl victory over San Francisco the following season.
Damar Hamlin
Damar Hamlin made his second appearance in Phoenix during Super Bowl week, with first responders on the scene to help save his life.
The Buffalo Bills safety received the NFLPA’s Alan Page Community Award on Wednesday, a little more than a month after he suffered cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the field in Cincinnati. He appeared again at NFL Honors on Thursday night after first responders have been identified.
Hamlin collapsed on the field after colliding with Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Te Higgins on Jan. 2.
All the heroes who helped save @HamlinIsland's life 👏 @UC_Health
📺: #NFLHonors on NBC pic.twitter.com/CWMMISoc1F
— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2023
\n”,”url”:”https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1623883516017799168″,”id”:”1623883516017799168″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”2920293d-d799-48e6-910a-555edb8f6e82″}}”/>
Returning Player of the Year
Geno Smith, who earned his first Pro Bowl berth after becoming a starter for the first time since 2014, is the AP Comeback Player of the Year.
The Seattle Seahawks quarterback received 28 first-place votes to beat San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey.
The 32-year-old Smith threw for 4,282 yards, 30 TDs and led Seattle to an NFC wild-card berth.
Smith earned 171 points and McCaffrey had 110 with 12 first-place votes. New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley came in fourth. He received four first-place votes.
Others receiving first place votes were: Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham (2), Giants center Nick Gates (2), Lions centerback Jared Goff (1) and Cardinals defensive end JJ Watt (1).
Coach of the Year
Brian Daboll made a big impression in the Big Apple.
The New York Giants rookie coach won the AP Coach of the Year award after leading the team to its first playoff appearance in six years.
Daboll received 16 first-place votes to edge out 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who received 12. Daboll totaled 123 points to Shanahan’s 100 in the 2022 AP NFL Closest All-Star Game.
Jaguars coach Doug Pederson finished third with 75 points, including five first-place votes.
Bills coach Sean McDermott was fourth, followed by Philadelphia’s Nick Sirianni.
McDermott received seven first-place votes, Siriani had six, Kansas City’s Andy Reid received two and Minnesota’s Kevin O’Connell and Detroit’s Dan Campbell each received one.
The Giants started 6-1, finished 9-7-1 and won one playoff game under Dumball.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
It’s all about this sauce.
New York Jets cornerback Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner won the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year award on Thursday, receiving 46 first-place votes.
Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson finished second with 129 points, receiving three first-place votes.
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Tariq Woolen came in third with 73 points, including one first-place vote.
Gardner, the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, started every game for the Jets. He had two interceptions and allowed just 33 catches on 73 targets. Gardner was a first-team All-Pro, becoming the first rookie cornerback to achieve the honor since Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott in 1981.
Gardner and Garrett Wilson are the third teammates to win the offensive and defensive rookie awards in the same season. Alvin Kamara and Marshon Lattimore did it with the Saints in 2017, and Detroit’s Mel Farr and Lem Barney did it in 1967.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson edged out Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker for the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award, 156-129.
Wilson led all rookies with 83 catches and 1,103 receiving yards. Walker led all rookies with 1,050 yards rushing and nine TDs.
Wilson received 18 first-place votes, one fewer than Walker. However, he took 19 seconds before Walker’s eight. Wilson had nine third-place votes, also one fewer than Walker.
First place votes are worth 5 points, second place votes are worth 3 and third place are worth 1.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy finished third.
Defensive Player of the Year
Nick Bosa made a big splash for the AP Defensive Player of the Year award.
San Francisco’s All-Pro defensive end received 46 first-place votes after leading the NFL with 18 1/2 sacks in the regular season.
Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons finished second with 101 points, well behind Bosa’s 237. Parsons did not receive a first-place vote, but had 30 second-place votes and 11 for third.
Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones came in third with 56 points. Jones had one first-place vote.
Philadelphia Eagles running back Haason Reddick received two first-place votes, but finished fourth.
New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams won the other first-place vote.
Bosa is due for a hefty pay raise this offseason. He is set to play on his nearly $18 million fifth-year option for 2023, but is likely to receive an extension that could be worth more than $30 million a year.
Offensive Player of the Year
Justin Jefferson walked away with the AP Offensive Player of the Year award.
The Minnesota All-Pro wide receiver received 35 first-place votes and earned 192 points, edging out distant runner-up Patrick Mahomes by a significant margin.
Mahomes received 10 first-place votes and finished with 75 points. Jalen Hurts came in third with 52 points, including three first-place votes. Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins received one first-place vote, finishing fourth. Bills quarterback Josh Allen received the other first-place vote, finishing eighth.
Jefferson led the NFL with 128 catches and 1,809 yards through his third season with the Vikings. He was one of two unanimous AP All-Pro selections along with Chiefs’ Travis Kelce.
It is the second year in a row that a wide receiver has won the award. Los Angeles Rams star Cooper Kupp won it last season.
Assistant Coach of the Year
DeMeco Ryans will take home the AP Assistant Coach of the Year award in Houston.
The new Texans coach received 35 first-place votes after leading the league’s No. 1 defense in San Francisco.
Ryans, who spent the last two seasons as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator, scored 206 points. He was named on 48 of the 50 ballots.
Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson finished second in the voting with 113 points, including 11 first-place votes.
Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen came in third with 26 points.
Ryans, a two-time Pro Bowler during his career with the Texans, has spent his entire coaching career with the 49ers. He was San Francisco’s interior line coach from 2018-20 after spending the 2017 season as the defensive quality control coach.