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The biggest news of the day from the New England Patriots’ perspective is the fact that cornerback Ty Law was selected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame announcement is only one part of the festivities leading up to the Super Bowl: the NFL Honors ceremony is the second big part, the one which sees awards being handed out to the outstanding players of the (regular) season.
This year’s winners are as follows:
Most Valuable Player: QB Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)
Offensive Player of the Year: QB Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)
Defensive Player of the Year: DT Aaron Donald (Los Angeles Rams)
Offensive Rookie of the Year: RB Saquon Barkley (New York Giants)
Defensive Rookie of the Year: LB Darius Leonard (Indianapolis Colts)
Coach of the Year: Matt Nagy (Chicago Bears)
Assistant Coach of the Year: Vic Fangio (Chicago Bears)
Comeback Player of the Year: QB Andrew Luck (Indianapolis Colts)
Walter Payton Man of the Year Award: DE Chris Long (Philadelphia Eagles)
Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award: QB Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints)
Deacon Jones Award: DT Aaron Donald (Los Angeles Rams)
Air Player of the Year: QB Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)
Ground Player of the Year: RB Saquon Barkley (New York Giants)
Salute to Servie Award: OG Ben Garland (Atlanta Falcons)
Clutch Performance Play of the Year: Miami Miracle (Miami Dolphins)
Unstoppable Performance of the Year: QB Jared Goff (Los Angeles Rams)
Offensive Line of the Year: Los Angeles Rams
High School Coach of the Year: Gabe Infante (St. Joseph’s Preparatory School)
Celebration of the Year: Seattle Seahawks
Moment of the Year: QB Aaron Rodgers’ comeback in week one (Green Bay Packers)
Game Changer Award: LB Shaquem Griffin (Seattle Seahawks)
Unsurprisingly, no member of the Patriots made the cut. Either because their performances did not quite reach the (often statistical) level of the players named above, or because they are named Bill Belichick and taken for granted year-in and year-out. Speaking of Belichick: he did not receive a single vote for coach of the year, an award that went to Matt Nagy for improving the Chicago Bears’ record from 5-11 to 12-4 in his first year on the job.
The Patriots are passively part of the ceremony, though, as the Dolphins’ last-second game-winning touchdown — dubbed the “Miami Miracle” — won the Clutch Performance Play of the Year Award. New England, of course, is on to bigger trophies in the meantime: the team will play for the Vince Lombardi Trophy tomorrow against defensive player of the year Aaron Donald and the Rams.