The stars were out on Thursday night for the 13th annual NFL Honors taking place in Las Vegas, the site of Super Bowl LVIII. All of the league's major awards were given out, including MVP and Comeback Player of the Year, while the 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame class was also unveiled.
Below, you can find all of the winners of the major awards, along with some key takeaways from the festivities.
One of the main highlights from the NFL Honors is the unveiling of the Pro Football Hall of Fame class. This year, it will be Dwight Freeney, Andre Johnson, Devin Hester, Randy Gradishar, Patrick Willis, Steve McMichael, and Julius Peppers who'll be receiving a gold jacket.
This is the second year that the Associated Press has implemented weighed voting for these awards. A first-place vote gives a player five points (10 for MVP), three points for second place and a single point for third. The player or coach who has the highest accumulated score wins the awards. That was particularly noticeable in the Comeback Player of the Year and Coach of the Year voting.
For Comeback Player of the Year, Joe Flacco ended up winning the award with 151 total points while Damar Hamlin finished second with 140 points. However, Hamlin did have more first place votes (21) than Flacco (13). Meanwhile, Kevin Stefanski and DeMeco Ryans were tied with 165 total points, but Stefanski gained the edge due to having one more first-place vote in his favor.
Kirk Cousins has a knack for going viral at the NFL Honors and he certainly left his mark this year, dancing with Cam Jordan on the main stage.
Penn and Teller took the stage alongside host Keegan-Michael Key and brought us into the world of magic. Before they could, however, they needed some help from someone in the audience and were able to drag commissioner Roger Goodell onto the stage. After putting him into a box and covering it with a sheet, Key drew a card that was the King of clubs. Goodell was supposed to be able to pick that card from inside the box, but ended up transforming into legendary running back Barry Sanders instead.
Lamar Jackson won the second MVP of his career on Thursday night and did so in rather dominating fashion. The Ravens quarterback received 49 first-place votes, meaning all but one person did not vote for him to win the award (the only other first-place vote went to Josh Allen). Jackson also had some fun with his brief acceptance speech, thanking the Baltimore front office for getting his contract extension done before the year.
For the second time in his six-year NFL career, Lamar Jackson is the NFL MVP. The dual-threat dynamo was stellar for the Ravens this season, leading them to a 13-4 record and the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who returned after suffering cardiac arrest, received the most first-place votes. But based on the new scoring system, which awards five points for a first-place vote, three points for a second and one point for a third, Browns QB Joe Flacco overcame Hamlin to take home the honor.
In mid-November, Joe Flacco was sitting on his couch. Less than two months later, the 39-year-old was leading the Browns in a playoff game. His remarkable return to relevance earned him NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
Joe Flacco wins Comeback Player of the Year, ahead of deserving candidates Baker Mayfield and Damar Hamlin.
Interesting that no contributors were inducted this year. Plenty of deserving coaches still waiting for their call to Canton, including Mike Shanahan.
On Sunday, Christian McCaffrey will play in Super Bowl LVIII against the Chiefs. But before that, the 49ers RB took the stage at NFL Honors to accept the award for Offensive Player of the Year.
Christian McCaffrey becomes the their RB to win OPOY since 2014: DeMarco Murray (2014) and Derrick Henry (2020) are the other two.
For the second time in his four years as an NFL head coach, Kevin Stefanski was named NFL Coach of the Year. What he did with the Browns in 2023 was remarkable, leading them to the playoffs with Joe Flacco, signed off the streets in November, as their starting QB after Deshaun Watson went down with an injury. Stefanski beat out Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans by the narrowest of margins.
The Coach of the Year race was remarkably close. Stefanski won over Ryans by a single first place vote.
First C.J. Stroud, now Will Anderson Jr. The Texans have officially swept the rookie awards with the No. 3 overall pick winning Defensive Rookie of the Year. He beat out the Eagles' Jalen Carter, among others.
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, already a three-time first-team All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler, has now won the ultimate honor: NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He beat out the Steelers' T.J. Watt and the Cowboys' Micah Parsons.
TJ Watt with a quick reaction to not winning DPOY.
Texans QB C.J. Stroud has won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in dominant fashion. He received 48 first-place votes, while Rams WR Puka Nacua got the other two.
Bill Belichick also not immune from jokes.
"Who would have thought that Taylor would have been to more playoff games this year than Bill Belichick."
