Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens receives the NFL’s second Most Valuable Player Award.
Lamar Jackson received nearly universal support for his second AP NFL Most Valuable Player award, which was announced at NFL Honors on Thursday night.
Baltimore’s All-Pro quarterback won 49 of 50 first-place votes from a national panel of voters that included NFL reporters, past players, and coaches.
Jackson led the Ravens to the NFL’s best regular season record (14-5), but they were defeated by the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game. Jackson, 27, is the fourth player to earn his second MVP before turning 28, after Patrick Mahomes (27), Brett Favre (27), and Jim Brown (22).
Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers’ running back, won the AP Offensive Player of the Year title outright. Myles Garrett, an edge rusher for the Cleveland Browns, defeated TJ Watt for the AP Defensive Player of the Year award. CJ Stroud, the Houston Texans quarterback, easily won the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year title. Stroud’s teammate, defensive end Will Anderson Jr, won the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year title, beating out Jalen Carter and Kobie Turner by two first-place votes.
The Browns won four honors. Quarterback Joe Flacco, who came off the bench to lead Cleveland to the playoffs, won the AP Comeback Player of the Year award. Kevin Stefanski won the AP Coach of the Year award by one point against Houston’s DeMeco Ryans.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen received the other first-place vote and ended fifth overall in voting. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott finished second with 152 points. McCaffrey came in third with 147 points, while teammate Brock Purdy finished fourth with 97.
Jackson threw for 3,678 yards and 24 touchdowns and ran for 821 yards and five scores as he led Baltimore to a record 10 wins over winning teams. He helped the Ravens defeat Houston in the divisional stage, but struggled in a 17-10 loss to the Chiefs in the AFC championship game.
McCaffrey, San Francisco’s All-Pro running back, garnered 39 of 50 first-place votes for OPOY and scored 222 points, outscoring Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
Garrett, Cleveland’s All-Pro edge rusher, garnered 23 first-place votes and 165 points, while Watt received 19 and 140 points for DPOY.
Stroud won 48 of 50 first-place votes for OROY, while Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua received the remaining two.
Anderson and Stroud are the fourth pair of teammates to win both the offensive and defensive rookie awards in the same season. Last year, Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner swept the accolades for the New York Jets.
Flacco defeated Bills safety Damar Hamlin and Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield for the comeback honor. He received 13 first-place votes, 26 second-place votes, and eight third-place votes, totaling 151 points.
On January 2, 2023, Hamlin collapsed on the field and needed to be resuscitated due to a heart arrest. He returned to the NFL this season. He appeared in five regular season games. Hamlin garnered 21 first-place votes but was on 42 of 50 ballots, whilst Flacco was on 47. He received seven second-place votes and 14 thirds, totaling 140 points.
Mayfield, who spent last season bouncing around the Browns, Panthers, and Rams, started every game for Tampa Bay and guided them to the playoffs’ second round. He received ten first-place votes and finished with 93 points.
Flacco, a 39-year-old former Super Bowl MVP, was in New Jersey with his family when Cleveland called him in November. He scored 4-1 in
Others earning first-place votes were: Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (4), Rams QB Matthew Stafford (1) and 49ers QB Brock Purdy (1).
Stefanski led the Browns to their third playoff berth since 1999 despite losing quarterback Deshaun Watson, star running back Nick Chubb, and right tackle Jack Conklin to season-ending injuries, as well as five starting quarterbacks.
Ryans helped the Houston Texans improve from last to first in the AFC South. The Texans defeated the Browns 41-14 in a wild-card playoff game, but voting was done before to the postseason.
Stefanski and Ryans both received 165 points under a weighted point system. Stefanski received 21 first-place votes to Ryans’ 20. Stefanski received 18 second place votes and six third-place votes. Ryans received 21 second-place votes and two thirds. Detroit’s Dan Campbell placed third. He received three first place votes. San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan (3), Baltimore’s John Harbaugh (2), and the Rams’ Sean McVay (1) all received first-place votes.
Schwartz won 25 first-place votes and finished with 160 points, handily outscoring Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.
Hill got seven first-place votes and finished with 139 points. Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb finished third with 45 points, including one first-place vote. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson received three first-place votes and finished fourth.
McCaffrey, a unanimous All-Pro selection, led the NFL with 1,459 yards rushing and 14 rushing touchdowns for the NFC champion 49ers. He also had 564 receiving yards for seven touchdowns.
Micah Parsons, Cowboys edge rusher, finished third in DPOY with 89 points, including seven first-place votes. Cornerback DaRon Bland, Parson’s teammate, received the other first-place vote and finished fifth, trailing Raiders edge Maxx Crosby.
Watt, who received the honor in 2021, led the NFL with 19 sacks. Garrett, however, had the stronger overall season for the NFL’s top-ranked defense.
Despite continual double teams, Garrett had 14 sacks, 30 quarterback hits, 17 tackles for loss, four forced turnovers, and caused offensive coordinators to avoid his side of the field.
Bland set an NFL record with five interception returns for touchdowns, but his name appeared on only six votes. In addition to the one first place vote, he received two second-place votes and three third-place votes.
Stroud, the No. 2 overall choice, threw for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, and five interceptions, with a passer rating of 100.8, third-best among rookies. He helped the Texans move from worst to first place in the AFC.
Watt, who received the honor in 2021, led the NFL with 19 sacks. Garrett, however, had the stronger overall season for the NFL’s top-ranked defense.
Despite facing repeated double-teams, Garrett Stroud topped the league in passing yards per game (273.9) and touchdown-interception ratio (4.6), becoming only the third player in NFL history to do so, joining Joe Montana in 1989 and Tom Brady in 2007.
Nacua established a rookie record with 105 receptions and 1,486 receiving yards. Lions tight end Sam LaPorta finished third.
This was the second year of AP’s weighted point system. First-place votes are worth ten points, second-place votes are five, third-place votes are three, fourth-place votes are two, and fifth-place votes are one.
