Josh Allen, Saquon Barkley, Joe Burrow, Jared Goff and Lamar Jackson are finalists for The Associated Press 2024 NFL Most Valuable Player award.
Barkley, Burrow and Jackson also are finalists for Offensive Player of the Year and Burrow is also in the running for Comeback Player of the Year.
The winners will be announced at NFL Honors on Feb. 6. A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league completed voting before the playoffs began.
Here are the finalists, in alphabetical order, for the eight AP NFL awards:
Allen helped the Bills win their fifth straight AFC East title. He threw for 3,731 yards, 28 TDs and had six picks for a 101.4 passer rating. Allen ran for 531 yards and 12 scores.
Barkley ran for 2,005 yards, eighth-best in NFL history. He sat out Philadelphia’s final regular-season game when he needed 101 yards to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season record. Barkley helped the Eagles win the NFC East and advance to the conference championship game.
Burrow led the NFL with a career-high 4,918 yards passing and 43 TDs but the Cincinnati Bengals finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs.
Goff threw for 4,629 yards, 37 TDs, nine interceptions and led Detroit to the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Lions were eliminated in the divisional round by Washington.
Jackson, the reigning winner, is seeking his third MVP award after leading the Ravens to an AFC North title. Jackson had career-highs with 4,172 yards passing, 41 TDs to just four interceptions and a 119.6 passer rating, which led the NFL. He was a first-team All-Pro for the third time and also ran for 915 yards and four TDs. The Ravens were knocked out of the divisional round by Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
Barkley, Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Derrick Henry and Jackson are finalists for the award.
Chase won the receiving triple crown, leading the league with 127 receptions, 1,708 yards and 17 TDs. The Bengals’ star wide receiver was a unanimous selection for All-Pro.
Henry, the 2020 Offensive Player of the Year, had 1,921 yards rushing and 16 TDs in his first season with the Ravens.
Eagles linebacker Zack Baun went from mostly playing special teams for the Saints to earning All-Pro honors in his first season in Philadelphia.
All-Pro edge rusher Myles Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, had 14 sacks for the Cleveland Browns.
Bengals All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson led the NFL with 17 1/2 sacks.
Broncos All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II allowed just 37 receptions, had four picks and opposing quarterbacks had a 61.1 passer rating throwing against him
Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt, the 2021 winner, had 11 1/2 sacks and forced six fumbles.
Raiders tight end Brock Bowers set a rookie record with 112 receptions and his 1,194 yards receiving were the most by a first-year player at his position.
Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels led the team to an eight-win improvement and has them one win away from a Super Bowl appearance. He threw for 3,568 yards, 25 TDs and posted a 100.1 rating. Daniels also ran for 891 yards and six scores.
Giants receiver Malik Nabers had 109 catches for 1,204 yards and seven TDs.
Broncos QB Bo Nix helped the team reach the playoffs for the first time in nine years. He had 3,775 yards passing, 29 TDs, 12 picks and ran for 430 yards and four scores.
Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr. caught 87 passes for 1,282 yards and 10 TDs.
Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean was among the highest-rated players in the slot, holding opponents to 50 receptions. He had five pass breakups and quarterbacks had an 82.2 passer rating against him.
Rams defensive tackle Braden Fiske led the team and all rookies with 8 1/2 sacks. He had 51 pressures, two forced fumbles and recoveries, 10 tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits.
Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell allowed 40 receptions, had nine pass breakups and quarterbacks had an 87 passer rating against him.
Dolphins edge Chop Robinson had six sacks, 20 pressures and eight tackles for loss.
Rams edge Jared Verse had 4 1/2 sacks but led all rookies in quarterback hits (18), pressures (77) and hurries (56). He also had 11 tackles for loss.
Detroit’s Dan Campbell, Minnesota’s Kevin O’Connell, Denver’s Sean Payton, Washington’s Dan Quinn and Kansas City’s Andy Reid are the finalists.
Campbell guided the Lions (15-3) to the NFC’s No. 1 seed. Connell led the Vikings (14-4) to the playoffs despite the departure of Kirk Cousins in free agency and losing rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy to a season-ending knee injury in training camp.
Payton helped the Broncos (10-8) overcome salary-cap woes stemming from the decision to release Russell Wilson and ended a nine-year playoff drought.
Quinn took over a 4-13 team and turned the Commanders into a 12-win playoff team.
Reid had the Chiefs (16-2) back atop the AFC as the No. 1 seed in a quest for a third straight Super Bowl victory.
Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, Vikings DC Brian Flores, Lions DC Aaron Glenn and Lions OC Ben Johnson made the list.
Burrow, Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins, Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez and Bills safety Damar Hamlin are the finalists.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
By: J.T. Olsen – for Sports Talk Florida
On this episode of the Creamsicle Chronicles, JT looks at some of the players at this year’s Senior Bowl that should be on the Buccaneers radar.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=7gn6HwTLtwI%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26enablejsapi%3D1
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