2020 NFL Honors

I'm gonna have a busy week on the blog front.  There's obviously all the NFL stuff related to the Super Bowl, and there's also the one-year-to-go countdown for the 2022 Winter Olympics, as well as the delayed Australian Open (which gets underway during the game on Sunday).  With that in mind, there's no time to waste, so let's get to the blogging.

As amazing as it seems, the NFL has made it to the finish line.  There were bumps along the way and numerous postponements, but no games were cancelled and they made it through the "pandemic season" on schedule.  As it turns out, all of those contingency scenarios ended up being unnecessary.  It was supposed to end on February 7 in Tampa, and it will end on February 7 in Tampa.

And, since it's the 2020 season we're talking about, we have to be reminded during Super Bowl Week.  There will be human fans at the Super Bowl, but there'll also be cardboard cutouts to help maintain social distancing.  Because it wouldn't be 2020 without cardboard fans!

Some parts of Super Bowl Week will remain the same, though.  One of them is the NFL Honors, which will take place in-person the night before the game as usual.  So, I guess it's time to start handing out some awards then...

MVP: Aaron Rodgers, Packers-All season long, the question of who would end up winning MVP came down to a pair of quarterbacks--Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes.  They both put up MVP-type numbers, but Rodgers emerged as the clear front-runner by the end.  He had 48 touchdown passes and just five interceptions.  That's an insane ratio!  Rodgers completed 70 percent of his passes and also led the league in passer rating (121.5).  There's no way the Packers go 13-3 or make it to the NFC Championship Game without him.  (Which is why it's asinine they're even thinking about not bringing him back!)

Offensive Player: Derrick Henry, Titans-It was a great offensive year throughout the league, so there were plenty of players worthy of this honor.  You've got Stefon Diggs and his 127 receptions.  Alvin Kamara and his 21 touchdowns.  Travis Kelce, who's really good at football.  And let's not forget the two MVP-caliber quarterbacks.  But I'm going with the Titans' Derrick Henry.  Everyone knows Tennessee's offense consists mainly of handing the ball to Henry and letting him run.  So, it sounds simple enough.  Stop Derrick Henry, stop the Titans.  Except no one did!  He became the eighth 2,000-yard rusher in NFL history.  Six of the other seven were named Offensive Player of the Year that season.
 
Defensive Player: T.J. Watt, Steelers-Remember how the Steelers were the best team in the league until Thanksgiving?  Yeah, I don't either, but that's besides the point!  Anyway, the main reason they got off to an 11-0 start was because of their defense.  And T.J. Watt was the leader of that defense.  He led the league in sacks (15) and tackles for loss (23), was named Defensive Player of the Month twice and was an All-Pro.  He's no longer just J.J.'s little brother.  In fact, they would become the first brothers ever to both win the Defensive Player of the Year award.

Offensive Rookie: Justin Herbert, Chargers-Minnesota's Justin Jefferson did some crazy things and could easily be the winner here.  The guy had 1,400 receiving yards--second-most in NFL history--as a rookie!  But I'm going with another Justin who did some crazy things--Herbert.  He wasn't supposed to take over as the Chargers' starter as early as he did, but a Tyrod Taylor injury gave him an opportunity and he ran with it.  Herbert broke all kinds of rookie passing records and led some amazing comebacks for a Chargers team that ended the season on a four-game winning streak after starting 3-9.

Defensive Rookie: Chase Young, Washington-Sometimes the high draft pick you hope can be a franchise-changing difference-maker turns out to be just that.  That was certainly the case with Chase Young.  The No. 2 pick was easily the best player on that Washington defense, and the defense is the primary reason why they made the playoffs.  He was also the only rookie defender to make the Pro Bowl.  This one should be unanimous.

Coach: Kevin Stefanski, Browns-This was perhaps the toughest call of any award.  Even tougher than MVP.  Because a very convincing argument can be made for both Kevin Stefanski and Washington's Ron Rivera.  In a way, I hope they tie for the honor.  But, if I have to pick one, I'm going with Stefanski for leading the Browns back to the playoffs for the first time in 18 years.  More than that, though, Cleveland won 11 games and proved to be a legit contender.  Washington, meanwhile, won the NFC East with a losing record, mainly because the division was so bad.  That's why Stefanski gets the edge.

Comeback: Alex Smith, Washington-From the toughest call to the easiest one.  Alex Smith almost died from complications after a gruesome leg injury during a game two years ago that certainly looked career-ending.  Yet in 2020, he made it all the way back!  Just being on the field would be enough.  Then you throw in the fact that he regained the starting role at midseason and went 5-1 as the starter to lead Washington to the division title.  In a year as horrible as 2020, it's nice to have a rare good story to talk about.

Man of the Year: Russell Wilson, Seahawks-There was a lot of not good stuff that happened in 2020.  From the pandemic to the racial unrest to the election, NFL players were on top of all of it.  In many cases, they were at the forefront of these social issues.  Nominees donated time and money, participated in marches, held voter registration drives.  The Walter Payton Man of the Year has always been the NFL's highest honor, and that will certainly be the case for the 2020 season.

My choice is a player who tackled all of 2020's biggest issues head-on--Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.  As soon as everything shut down, he made it a point to take on food insecurity, donating a million meals to a local food bank in Seattle right away.  It eventually became more than 47 million meals nationwide.  He also became a powerful speaker in the Black Lives Matter movement over the summer and was instrumental in the NFL's I AM A VOTER campaign.  Oh, and despite the pandemic, he continued his weekly visits to Seattle Children's Hospital virtually.  Truly exceptional both on the field and off!

Which isn't to say that the other 31 nominees aren't deserving.  I'm just ridiculously impressed by the scope of the community involvement and outreach by the guy who's been the Seahawks' franchise player since his arrival in Seattle nine years ago.  His positive impact was never felt more than in 2020, which makes him the perfect choice for the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year.