The Associated Press has announced the finalists for the eight awards that will be given out as part of the NFL Honors show on February 6.
The marquee award is the Most Valuable Player prize and the consensus has been for some time that the award will go to either Bills quarterback Josh Allen or Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. Jackson’s bid got a boost when he was voted a first-team All-Pro, but we’ll have to wait a little longer before finding out if voters also put him ahead of Allen on their MVP ballots.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, and Lions quarterback Jared Goff are the other finalists.
Barkley, Burrow, and Jackson are also finalists for the offensive player of the year award. Ravens running back Derrick Henry and Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase round out the contenders for that prize.
Burrow is a three-time finalist as he’s also up for comeback player of the year. Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez, Bills safety Damar Hamlin, and Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins join him in that category.
The other award finalists are:
Coach of the Year
Dan Campbell, Lions; Kevin O’Connell, Vikings; Sean Payton, Broncos; Dan Quinn, Commanders; and Andy Reid, Chiefs.
Assistant Coach of the Year
Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady; Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio; Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores; Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn; and Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Defensive Player of the Year
Eagles linebacker Zack Baun; Browns defensive end Myles Garrett; Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson; Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II; and Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Raiders tight end Brock Bowers, Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers, Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, and Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, Rams defensive lineman Braden Fiske, Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, Dolphins linebacker Chop Robinson, and Rams linebacker Jared Verse.
Jayden Daniels’s play for the Commanders this season has generated a lot of conversation about whether he’s had the best rookie season of any quarterback in league history and Sunday’s game could make it all but impossible to argue against him.
If the Commanders can beat the Eagles, Daniels would become the first rookie quarterback to take his team to the Super Bowl. That achievement would be hard to overcome in terms of feathers in a rookie’s cap, but Daniels said on Wednesday that he isn’t drawing motivation from the chance to become a trail blazer in that regard.
“I’m not even thinking that far. It would obviously be a blessing, but I’m just focused on how can I be better day by day,” Daniels said.
That focus has served Daniels well since he entered the NFL and a win this week would lead to a lot of thoughts about just how good Daniels might end up being and how fast he might wind up reaching those heights.
After meeting twice in the regular season, the Commanders and Eagles will meet for a third time on Sunday, in the NFC Championship Game. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni says that makes it incumbent on both coaching staffs to come up with schemes that the opponent hasn’t seen before.
“Any time you play somebody multiple times you’re going to know things about them, but they’re going to have new wrinkles for us and we’re going to have new wrinkles for them,” Sirianni said.
In Week 11, the Eagles beat the Commanders 26-18 in Philadelphia. In Week 16, the Commanders beat the Eagles 36-33 in Washington. The Commanders win may have been the most impressive performance of quarterback Jayden Daniels’ rookie year, and Sirianni said the Eagles know they’re facing an excellent young player in Daniels.
“He’s able to win different ways, he can win with his arm, he can win with his legs, he can extend plays and make a play with his legs, he can extend plays and make a play with his arm,” Sirianni said of Daniels. “You can see he’s calm and cool in the biggest moments. I’ve got a lot of respect for how he’s playing.”
Fortunately, Sirianni says the same is true of his own quarterback.
“Same thing I said with Jayden Daniels, he’s calm and cool, I think the same thing about Jalen Hurts,” Sirianni said.
No one outside the locker room was surprised when the Commanders lost to the Buccaneers 37-20 in the season opener. The Commanders, after all, were coming off a 4-13 season with a new coach and a rookie quarterback.
“I was like, ‘Hey, F you. That’s not how it’s going to go down,’” coach Dan Quinn said, via John Keim of ESPN. “It wasn’t disrespect; it was dismissiveness, and I felt some kind of way. . . . It was we’re going to be a lot better than what we just showed today, and eventually we’ll show that. So, not to prove it to everybody else or underdog stories, it’s how we get down.”
The Commanders surprised plenty of people with wins over the Bucs and the Lions in the postseason to reach the NFC Championship Game in Quinn and Jayden Daniels’ first season in Washington.
The Commanders remain underdogs, a role they are just fine playing.
“At some point I’m sure people will start believing in us,” Washington safety Jeremy Chinn said, “and we’ll have that same chip on our shoulder. It is the way that we come into work every single day. The guys in this building, the people in this building, the way we show up to work, people can say whatever they want outside. We know who we have in here and who we are.”
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts never gives much information about injuries. He didn’t again Wednesday but did allow that he’s “on track” to play Sunday in the NFC Championship Game.
The Eagles listed him as a limited practice participant as he continues rehabbing his left knee injury.
The team did not practice Wednesday, holding a walk-through as usual.
The estimated tight end Dallas Goedert (ankle) and center Cam Jurgens (back) as non-participants.
Wide receiver A.J. Brown (knee/rest), wide receiver Britain Covey (neck), right tackle Lane Johnson (knee/rest), cornerback Quinyon Mitchell (shoulder) and outside linebacker Josh Sweat (ankle/rest) were listed as limited.
Covey returned to practice from injured reserve, opening his 21-day window as he seeks to return from a neck injury.
Quarterback Kenny Pickett (ribs) and defensive tackle Byron Young (hamstring) were full participants.
