Rob Issa, FISM News
Patrick Mahomes won the AP NFL Most Valuable Player by a landslide.
Mahomes received 48 of 50 first-place votes. Jalen Hurts finished second and Josh Allen was third. Both got one first-place vote.
Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs face Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
“To the Chiefs organization and my teammates, I would never be standing here without y’all,” Mahomes said in a video. “Every day we’ve given everything we have together to win the ultimate goal, the Super Bowl. Let’s continue to go for that dream this weekend.”
History is against Mahomes. The last nine players to win the MVP award and play in the Super Bowl the same season are 0-9.
Mahomes became the third player in NFL history to win the award twice before turning 28. Mahomes is 27. Brett Favre and Jim Brown also did it.
New York Giants rookie coach Brian Daboll won Coach of the Year. He helped the Giants make the playoffs for the first time since 2016. San Fransisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan finished second and Jaguars coach Doug Pederson was third.
DeMeco Ryans is the AP Assistant Coach of the Year after leading San Francisco’s No. 1 ranked defense. Ryans was hired to be the head coach of the Houston Texans recently.
The 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa won the Defensive Player of the Year award after leading the NFL with 18 ½ sacks in the regular season. He got 46 first-place votes. Dallas Cowboys edge Micah Parsons came in second and Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones was third.
The New York Jets swept the Rookie of the Year awards. Cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner won the defensive award and wide receiver Garrett Wilson edged out Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker for the offensive.
Gardner got 46 first-place votes, Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson got three, and Seahawks cornerback Tariq Woolen got one.
Vikings wideout Justin Jefferson earned the Offensive Player of the Year award with 35 first-place votes. Mahomes was second and Hurts was third.
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith won the Comeback Player of the Year. 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was second and Saquon Barkley was third.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott won the prestigious Walter Payton Man of the Year award given to a player for outstanding community service activities off the field, as well as excellence on the field.
“Ever since Dak Prescott entered the NFL, he has inspired others around him to push through adversity and to help those in need when they need it the most,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said.
Through his Faith, Fight, Finish Foundation he has been able to tremendously impact so many lives in the state of Texas as well as in his home state of Louisiana. Dak has been a leader in the mental health space and in raising awareness for the fight against cancer — two causes near and dear to his heart. Dak has already created an incredible legacy for himself in the League with a long way to go, and we’re proud to name him the 2022 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year.”
The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023 has nine new members.
Six-time All-Pro offensive lineman Joe Thomas and cornerback Darrelle Revis were selected on their first ballot. Defensive end DeMarcus Ware, linebacker Zach Thomas and cornerback Ronde Barber also got in. Senior candidates Joe Klecko, Chuck Howley, and Ken Riley, along with coaching candidate Don Coryell also were voted into the Hall.
Joe Thomas was most famous for playing 10,363 consecutive offensive plays for the Cleveland Browns from 2007 until he suffered an injury in 2017.
“The one theme that has been, probably, the thing I hold most closely to my heart when people ask about ‘What are you most proud of during your career,’ it’s that snap streak because of what it represents to me,” Thomas said. “‘Count on me.’ That was always the motto I had in my head. It was ‘Count on me.’ When times get tough, and you want to know who to look at, count on me.”