The Associated Press will present its individual NFL awards the night before the Super Bowl in Tampa. Until then, here are some off-track honors to consider.
BEST GAME: In Week 9, Tua Tagovailoa and Kyler Murray’s first game lived up to expectations. The two young quarterbacks exchanged one-off passes, timed pushes and other big plays in a dazzling spectacle of the league’s future. Miami won 34-31. Tagovailoa led a 93-yard drive to equalize before Jason Sanders scored a 50-yard goal. Arizona’s Zane Gonzalez missed a 49-yard sprint that would have tied it.
Runner-up: There’s a lot for Baltimore’s last-second penalties win in Cleveland in Week 14. For drama, it’s a smart choice. For football, not so much. Was it the big 12 we were watching, or just playing helpless football?Exciting, yes. Classic, no.
PIRE GAME: One day, the league will be informed how to keep the Lions off national television. During Week 16, they had a game Saturday afternoon with Tampa Bay. Lowly Detroit lost to Tampa Bay 47-7, the game didn’t. If the Buccaneers showed no mercy and left Tom Brady after pitching four touchdowns in the first half, they have damaged the Washington NFL record of 72 problems against the Giants in 1966.
Finalist: Almost about the Jaguars.
BEST CELEBRATION: Take a look at Nyheim Hines of the Colts doing his Simone Biles impersonation, not only in the finish line, but in the direction of Detroit.
Finalist: Aaron Rodgers’ undeniable “I LOVE GOLD” after running for an opposite landing to Carolina.
PIRE CELEBRATION: The reaction of New York Jets enthusiasts to his team that broke his winning-free streak by defeating the Rams in Week 15, eliminating Trevor Lawrence, Clemson’s QB.
Finalist: Everyone who connects to the video table on the band line screen when a penalty has erased the big game.
BEST GAME OF THE YEAR: HAIL MURRAY, of course. When it comes to despair, a lot has to go well. Some of them did not do so at the end of Arizona’s “miracle” victory over Buffalo. Kyler Murray was almost knocked down. He will have to have rushed to the left, and DeAndre Hopkins had to pass three finishers, all in as smart a position as him to catch the ball. He did, and the climax will show forever.
Runner-up: Everything that happens in Las Vegas doesn’t stop there. Ryan Fitzpatrick’s 34-yard pass to Mack Hollins as he drove it through his face mask established a winning basket in Week 16 with 1 moment to play, putting Miami about to make the playoffs.
WORST GAME OF THE YEAR: Of course, this category includes lousy Jets. With New York on the brink of its first victory Dec. 6 against Las Vegas, forward 28-24 with 15 seconds to go, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams inexplicably called it an all-out blitz. Derek Carr read it, threw a pass to Henry Ruggs III, who passed rookie cornerback Lamar Jackson, who had no protection assist, for a 46-yard landing and the win. Williams fired the next day.
Finalists: Dallas punt failure in the fourth and 10th with 24 fewer numbers at the beginning of the fourth against Washington. Failed, Washington scored on the next play to cause a 21-point quarterback on Thanksgiving.
And Giants quarterback Daniel Jones stumbled on his own feet at the end of an 80-yard run.
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER (OFENSA): Packers’ closed wing, Robert Tonyan.
It would be right in September to say “Who?” Tonyan has made his third season a year of escape. In 15 games, it has 50 receptions, 568 yards and 10 touchdowns. It was an extra piece Rodgers desperately needed. Tonyan in the past had 14 receptions.
Finalists: Las Vegas WR Nelson Agholor, Buffalo QB Josh Allen, Carolina WR Robby Anderson, Arizona TE Dan Arnold, Indianapolis RB Hines, Detroit TE T. J. Hockenson, Dallas TE Dalton Schultz, Cleveland G Wyatt Teller, Washington TE Logan Thomas.
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER (DEFENSE): Arizona LB Haason Reddick, despite everything placed in the right position on the outside, has become a force and has 12 1-2 catches in addition to betting the race well. -Choose who becomes a loose agent after the season.
Finalists: Carolina DE Brian Burns, New Orleans DE Trey Hendrickson, New England CB J. C. Jackson, Atlanta LB Foye Oluokon, Tennessee DT Jeffery Simmons, Rams CB Darious Williams.
Most disappointing (offensive): We would probably be difficult here, however, after a record year in 2019 in which Saints catcher Michael Thomas won the honors of offensive players, he was injured, nervous, even un cooperating and disinterested at times. that Thomas, if healthy, can also make this selection meaningless in the playoffs.
Finalists: Houston WR Randall Cobb, Dallas RB Ezekiel Elliott, Atlanta RB Todd Gurley, New England QB Cam Newton, Philadelphia QB Carson Wentz (Eagles O-line too).
Most Disappointing Player (DEFENSA): Jadeveon Clowney signed with Tennessee on September 7, reunited with Titans coach Mike Vrabel after his season with Vrabel as Houston’s defensive coordinator in 2017. The contract gave Clowney the chance to earn up to $15 million, much less that he searched with a loose will. But Clowney was never close to maximizing that deal, he played eight games before injuring himself. He never had a bachelor bag.
Finalists: San Francisco DT Arik Armstead, Las Vegas LB Vic Beasley Jr. , Arizona CB Patrick Peterson, Minnesota S Harrison Smith (and all Minnesota High School).
MOST SURPRISING TEAM: For a time it looked like Cleveland or Washington would win this award, but let’s commend the talents of the soccer team near South Beach.
What Brian Flores has done in two years with the Dolphins (10-5), who will reach the playoffs with a victory Sunday, is monumental. Think about where this team was in September, not to mention the 2019 season with predictions of a possible winless season.
Finalists: While either can be in the playoffs, the Browns and WFT get a go-ahead.
MORE DECONTRANTE TEAM: So many failures this year, some of which can be attributed to COVID-19 problems, others to injuries, is forgetting the Fiasco that were the Texans, from the eternal strength of the South AFC to an authorized coach/general manager, his most productive player criticizing the organization and his teammates, and one of the best draft picks, oh, wait, that happened in Miami, it will have to be Houston.
Finalists: Dallas, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Las Vegas, New England.
Stranger Incident: The Broncos were forced to face the Saints without any of their 4 quarters. Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles had no mask around Jeff Driskel, who tested positive for coronavirus on Thanksgiving. Practice team wide receiver Kendall Hinton passed a teammate and two to the Saints; his bracelet was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame. He is the first quarterback to hold this position since 1965.
Runners-up: Ravens CB Marcus Peters spitting Browns WR Jarvis Landry in the back; QB Dwayne Haskins, a 2019 first-round pick stormed through Washington just after Christmas.
BEST ANNOUNCER GAME TO GAME: What a thrill to see more of Mike Tirico, who has added a lot of stellar NBC games to his triad of tasks. Sweet, informative, fun and stubborn when needed, Tirico is simply the best, advertised game. The more Tirico there is, the better.
Finalist: We hire him every year and it’s wonderful every year: Kevin Harlan, so far, the most productive player on play-through-play radio (Westwood One exhibitions on Monday nights) and the must-see host of CBS Sunday programming. His descriptions of pieces are like an artist portraying a masterpiece.
Honorable mentions of Ian Eagle (CBS), Kenny Albert and Kevin Kugler (Fox).
BEST ANALYST: CBS has a monopoly on these, with the addition of Charles Davis, who came from Fox to bring knowledge, intelligence and enthusiasm to his missions with Eagle. But the network also has competent and highly listenable analysts, from Rich Gannon to Trent Green to Tony Romo and Adam Archuleta to our favorite, runner of fame James Lofton.
Runners-up: Louis Riddick and Brian Griese (ESPN), Kurt Warner (Westwood One), Troy Aikman (Fox).
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AP Pro Football writers Arnie Stapleton, Dennis Waszak Jr. and Teresa M. Walker, as well as sports writers David Brandt and Larry Lage contributed.
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More AP NFL: https://apnews. com/NFL and https://twitter. com/AP_NF
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