The most honorific of all the honorees at the NFL Honors ceremony

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Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins and Kelly Clarkson perform at the NFL Honors award show.

Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins and Kelly Clarkson perform at the NFL Honors award show.
Image: AP

The NFL announced its end-of-the-season awards Thursday night, and the list of recipients was largely predictable. While every winner should be proud of the season they had, why stop the competition there? Each standout player and coach accomplished a lot, but who was the most impactful? When we look at the winners five, 10, or 15 years from now, which season will be remembered (the most)?

Yes, this is a gimmick, but be thankful I’m giving you a reason to read this slideshow other than just straight aggregate. Was Brian Daboll’s coaching performance better than the Jets sweeping the offensive and defensive rookie of the year honors? I have no idea, but this is all arbitrary (meaningless?) for the sake of page views.

The slideshow is in order from least impressive to most impressive, so let’s get to clicking.

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This distinction is, by definition, not a football award, and I don’t have the stats on how many turkeys Prescott donated at Thanksgiving so it’s hard to weigh the impressiveness of his off-field work.

Be that as it may, that’s probably a good thing because bragging about philanthropic efforts kind of defeats the purpose. The only classy donor is an anonymous one.

In all seriousness though, Dak takes a lot of shit because he’s in Dallas, and that makes his selflessness and willingness to work in the community even more impressive. 

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Kansas City Chiefs fans may perceive this as an insult. “Look at his stats! He had more than 5,000 yards and 41 touchdowns, and didn’t even break a sweat!” That’s exactly my point. The Chiefs went 14-3, but only covered the spread five times during the regular season.

As unfair as it is, Mahomes is held to a different standard — one he keeps setting for himself. Despite the gaudy numbers in 2022, the last time he won MVP he had nine more passing TDs in one fewer start. He was great this season; he melted the league in 2018. 

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This, to me, was essentially a team award. The San Francisco 49ers’ defense was incredible this year, and Bosa was a large part of that. He also led the league with 18.5 sacks, which will earn you some acclaim.

Some of those takedowns were due to coverage, and in my opinion, Fred Warner was every bit as important to the Niners’ scheme as Bosa. He didn’t have a ton of TFLs, sacks, or interceptions, but he did have 130 tackles. Bosa was awesome. He wasn’t his own defense like J.J. Watt in 2015 or even T.J. Watt in 2021. 

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I have a hard time with this because the New York Giants went 9-7-1, and won a playoff game against perennial postseason disappointment Minnesota. That’s not a season I’d streak in Times Square over. Is Daboll a great coach, or is there an extraordinary amount of hype because the Giants were fucking dogshit under the past few skippers?

Are the strides made by Daniel Jones because of Daboll, or is it simply a byproduct of Joe Judge and Jason Garrett getting fired? Did you watch Mac Jones this year? Or the Football Night in America? I could go either way on Jones.

I will give Daboll credit for actually instilling a culture of accountability. Kenny Golladay didn’t want to block, so he didn’t play, and the team still won nine games with that receiving corps(e). 

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Shout out to Geno Smith for staying ready, and taking full advantage of an opportunity that he earned. The media’s reaction (mine included) when Pete Carroll named him the starter was as if the Seahawks had signed Mark Sanchez out of the broadcast booth.

Honestly, the most impressive thing Smith did in 2022 was shaking off the stench of being a former Jets quarterback. That carries a unique stigma, and of course, it’s not the only one he had to overcome. The guy attempted more passes this year than the past six seasons combined, led Seattle to a 9-8 record, and a playoff appearance.

That said, the most important thing he did in 2022 was outperforming Russell Wilson. Seattle won the head-to-head against their former QB, and Smith nearly doubled up Wilson’s TD passes (30-16) on the season. 

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The architect of the 49ers’ defense deserves a ton of credit. The Niners finished the regular season on a 10-game win streak, and allowed 20-plus points just twice in that stretch. San Francisco only gave up more than 20 points four times in the regular season.

However, that’s not the real reason Ryans is so far up this list. The real reason is he got a head coaching job, and that’s saying something. Black coaches really have to go above and beyond to get a legitimate shot at turning around an NFL franchise. And here’s hoping the Texans will actually do that. (They fired their past two hires — both Black coaches — after only one season at the helm.) Best of luck, DeMeco. 

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The Minnesota Vikings receiver came 191 yards short of being the first player to break the 2,000-yard receiving mark in a single season. He’s listed at 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, but it feels like he’s athletically superior to any secondary. I was able to see Jefferson in person, and all he does is get open and get separation. It’s uncanny. He’s single-handedly keeping Kirk Cousins employed.

Jefferson was a huge reason why the Vikings won 13 games, playing a massive role in multiple comebacks, including that insane fourth-and-long grab against the Buffalo Bills. He’s the face of Griddy-ing, and was doing it before it was cool. (Coincidentally, I blame him for the Griddy’s omnipresence, which is why he’s not No. 1 on this list. There are a lot of dances, mix it up.)

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The New York Jets — yes, the goddamn Jets — became just the third team in NFL history to have both the offensive and defensive rookies of the year in the same season. The Saints in 2017 and the Lions in 1967 are the only other teams to do that, per ESPN.

The Jets drafted so well that even after they lost their frontrunner for Rookie OPOY in Breece Hall to an ACL injury, they still had a player worthy of the award. The defining moment of Garrett Wilson’s season was the bomb he caught against the Cleveland Browns in New York’s early-season improbable comeback — and it says everything about the Jets’ season that Joe Flacco delivered that pass to him.

The biggest testament to Wilson’s talent was that he went over 1,100 yards receiving with Zach Wilson winging prayers (and picks) most of the year. I’d say, “Imagine if he had a good quarterback,” but that’s literally all Jets fans think about so it’s kind of redundant.

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All Sauce Garner (pictured) did was live up to the billing, and come into the league as a ready-made shutdown corner. He wasn’t just PFF’s highest-graded corner among rookies, he was their highest-graded corner in the NFL. The Jets finished the season with the fourth stingiest defense, allowing just under 19 points per game, and Gardner was instantly a difference maker.

I know it’s kind of a copout to give two players top billing, but seeing as it’s just the third time this has happened, and it’s the Jets, I’m confident that when (if?) we look back on the 2022 NFL Honors list, Wilson and Gardner will stand out. (And hopefully, it’s because they went on to have Hall of Fame-worthy careers and not because the Jets wasted their talent.)

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