CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Awards season is underway with the 2020 regular season in the books.
The Associated Press already handed out All-Pro honors and the Pro Football Writers of America handed out their awards last week, which we voted on.
The official awards recognized by the league will be handed out at NFL Honors on Saturday, February 6.
Here are our 2020 regular season award winners from the PFWA ballot we submitted.
NFL MVP: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
Rodgers completed a career-best – as a full-time starter – 70.7% of his passes for the Packers this season and threw for over 4,000 yards (4,299) for the third straight year, and the ninth time in his career. He led the NFL with 48 touchdowns and just 5 interceptions as Green Bay finished 13-3 and secured the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
Offensive Player of the Year: Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans
Henry won his second consecutive rushing title by steamrolling his way to 2,027 yards on the ground in 2020. He also led the NFL with 17 rushing TDs while averaging 5.36 yards per carry.
Defensive Player of the Year: T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers
Watt led the NFL with 15.0 sacks 41 QB hits and 23 tackles-for-loss this season. He broke up 7 passes, forced a pair of fumbles and also had an interception.
Rookie of the Year: Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Herbert completed 66.6% of his passes for 4,336 yards in 15 starts for the Chargers. He broke Baker Mayfield’s record for touchdown passes by a rookie QB set in 2018 with 31 TDs and just 10 interceptions.
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Chase Young, Washington Football Team
The former Ohio State Buckeye racked up 44 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, registered a dozen QB hits, forced 4 fumbles, recovered 3 fumbles, broke up 4 passes and scored a defensive touchdown in his first NFL season.
Comeback Player of the Year: Alex Smith, Washington Football Team
Smith’s return from a spiral fracture leg and subsequent infection that saw him undergo multiple procedures to save his leg was nothing short of miraculous. Smith, who missed the entire 2019 season, started 6 of the 8 games he appeared in for Washington where he completed 66.7% of his passes with 6 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He was sacked 22 times.
Most Improved Player of the Year: Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Allen made a quantum leap in his third NFL season. His completion percentage jumped from 58.8% in 2019 to 69.2 in 2020. He threw for 4,544 yards with 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this past season in leading the Bills to the AFC East title after throwing for 3,089 yards with 20 touchdowns and 9 interceptions a year ago.
Coach of the Year: Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns
Under Stefanski, the Browns went 11-5 during the regular season to end the NFL’s longest playoff drought at 18 years, qualifying as the No. 6 seed in the AFC. Cleveland’s 11 victories were the most for the franchise since the 1994 season, while Stefanski won the most games for a first-year Browns head coach since Paul Brown won 12 in 1946, the year the franchise was founded. Cleveland’s offense scored 408 points during the regular season under Stefanski, second-most in franchise history.
Assistant Coach of the Year: Bill Callahan, Cleveland Browns
It would have been easy to select Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy or Bills OC Brian Daboll, but we went a bit deeper and picked Callahan. Cleveland’s offensive line was among the best in the league and maintained a high quality of play despite injuries that saw the depth of the unit tested with primary backups Chris Hubbard, Nick Harris and Michael Dunn landing on injured reserve late in the season along with starters Jack Conklin, Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller missing games. After surrendering 40 sacks in 2019, Cleveland gave up 26 in 2020. The Browns averaged 148.4 yards per game on the ground, third in the NFL and the highest average since 1978 for the team.
Executive of the Year: Brandon Beane, Buffalo Bills