Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Packer Plus
A stellar night for guys named Aaron
A pair of Aarons pulled off an NFL hat trick Saturday night.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers earned his third Associated Press Most Valuable Player award, while Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald took his third top defensive player prize at NFL Honors.
Also taking home awards were two members of the Washington Football Team: quarterback Alex Smith was the Comeback Player of the Year in one of the most inspirational stories of 2020, and edge rusher Chase Young got the top defensive rookie.
Titans 2,000-yard rusher Derrick Henry won Offensive Player of the Year, and the offensive rookie honor went to Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.
Cleveland's Kevin Stefanski was the Coach of the Year, and Buffalo offensive coordinator Brian Daboll earned assistant coach honors.
Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson won the Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community.
Rodgers had perhaps the best season of his 16-year career, leading Green Bay to a 13-3 regular season, the NFC's best mark. Just a few months after questions arose about his comfort level with the Packers – and their choosing a quarterback in the first round of April's draft – Rodgers, who turned 37 in December, tore up the NFL.
Rodgers topped the league with 48 touchdown passes completion rate (70.7 percent), and a 121.5 rating. He was picked off just five times.
“It is really special to have won it in my fourth year as a starter and now to win it in my 13th year as a starter in a new offense is pretty amazing and something I am very proud of,” Rodgers said. “To have sustained success and be able to play your best football at 37 in my 16th season is something I take a lot of pride in.”
Donald, the Los Angeles Rams' unanimous All-Pro, added the 2020 top defensive player honor to his wins in 2017 and 2018. Only Pro Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor (1981, '82, 86) and
Houston edge rusher J.J. Watt (2012, '14, 15) have earned the award three times.
“You just named two great defensive players,” he said, “so any time your name is mentioned with greats, you will be honored – especially there's only a few that have accomplished that. To be the third to do it that is truly a blessing. It shows the body of work that I have; anytime your hard work is rewarded you are going to be happy about that. It is just a blessing.”
The 36-year-old Smith completed a remarkable comeback from a broken right leg that required 17 surgeries to repair. Smith stepped in to start eight games before a strained right calf in the same leg sidelined him for the postseason spot he helped the team secure.
Everyone across the league cited Smith as an inspiration.
“It is humbling when I hear that,” Smith said. “I know for how long I spent thinking about and looking at the men and women who inspired me. I am stuck in the hospital bed, stuck in a wheelchair, spent countless hours googling
and looking at videos of our service men and women going through the same rehab as I went through. …
“So there were definitely people in front of me that I am so thankful for that allowed me to go down this path. And obviously I am humbled and I guess you hope that you can kind of be a link in that chain for anybody coming behind you.”
Henry ran for 2,027 yards, the eighth player to surpass the magic 2,000 mark.
“Two thousand yards is always on a running back's mind, especially in the league because it is so unique,” Henry said. “Always put the team goals first, then individual goals come second. But I knew we take a lot of pride in the running game and have had success, and then anything is possible with the group I am with, (so) we could accomplish it.”
Stefanski's Browns snapped their postseason drought dating back to the 2003 season by going 11-5 in the rugged AFC North, then beating Pittsburgh in the wild-card round before a close loss at Kansas City.
“We never concerned ourselves with the past, we are all about moving forward,” Stefanski said. “This season had its unique challenges and we focused on those each and every day and ultimately tried to put together a group of guys that would fight every single week, and I think we did that. But we were so focused on what we were doing in the here and now.”
Daboll helped Buffalo to a 15-4 record and a spot in the AFC championship game as he oversaw the rapid development of quarterback Josh Allen in his third pro season. Only Green Bay with 509 scored more than Buffalo's 501 points.
Herbert, chosen sixth overall in last April's draft, is the second straight quarterback and the ninth since 2004 to be the top offensive rookie. Not even a starter when the season began, Herbert stepped in during the Chargers' second game when Tyrod Taylor was injured during a medical procedure. Herbert never looked back, and set a rookie record with 31 TD passes.
Young was drafted four spots ahead of Herbert. The edge rusher led all rookies with 71⁄2 sacks and should be an anchor of the team's defense throughout the decade.
Wilson invoked the words of Payton in his acceptance speech.
“We are stronger together than we are alone…” Wilson said. “To the young boy or girl who has a dream … who wants to make a difference … remember: Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. “Love changes things.”
At JSOnline.com: #ROBBED. That was one of the trending topics on Twitter Saturday night after Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt, the Pewaukee native and former Wisconsin Badgers star, did not collect his first AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award during the virtual NFL Honors show. He finished second to the Rams' Aaron Donald, a year after taking third. Count Watt's NFL brothers, who always show their support for each other on social media, as feeling the same way.
Editor’s note: This story was published Jan. 29, 1996.
Tempe, Ariz. — Almost every phase of dominant play in which the Dallas Cowboys have built a National Football League dynasty deserted them in the desert Sunday night.
But the Cowboys, playing turnoverfree football while the Pittsburgh Steelers had three giveaways, nevertheless reign as champions of Super Bowl XXX today.
Two Neil O’Donnell interceptions, returned for 77 yards by Dallas cornerback Larry Brown, basically were the difference as the Cowboys won a war of attrition with the Steelers, 27-17, at Sun Devil Stadium.
For once, the Cowboys, the NFL’s most arrogant team, could not boast in victory, their unprecedented third Super Bowl championship in four years.
“I’d like to commend Pittsburgh,” Cowboys coach Barry Switzer said. “They dominated the second half. But we’re the only one of the 30 teams left standing.”
Stymied for long stretches by the Steelers’ physical defense, the Cowboys gained just 254 total yards. That was the lowest total by a winning team in America’s most-watched football game since Miami gained 253 yards in Super Bowl VII.
Asked if the Cowboys’ offensive linemen, members of what some football people have called the finest line ever assembled, had done much talking, Steelers linebacker Kevin Greene exploded in a tirade and abruptly ended his post-game remarks.
“What could they say?” Greene hollered. “That we kicked their butt? We did. That’s a statement in itself.
“We stopped that overpowering, humongous offensive line. We weren’t buying all that crap that they were going to blow us off the ball. That was all just (expletive).”
Emmitt Smith gained 23 yards on a trap play on his first carry, then 26 yards in his final 17 attempts. He would finish with 49 yards in 18 rushes, a 2.7-yard average.
The Steelers did it without finding it necessary to commit an additional eighth defender to turn Smith into a mere mortal running back, a little man tossed about by a fierce defense. Their scheme proved to be successful against both run and pass.
Pittsburgh mixed its defenses, frequently stunting its three linemen or sending any and all of its four linebackers in well-coordinated fire-zone blitzes. By doing so, the Steelers weren’t caught in static alignments where they would have been more susceptible to the Cowboys’ zone-block running game behind its massive linemen. “We wanted to keep the game to 16 or 17 points,” Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said. “Our guys had a hard time getting started. That hurt us.
“But I knew our front seven would be hard to run on. I knew all week long
there was not a strength differential in this game even though that’s the best running game in the league.
“The further the game went along the harder it was for them to operate. At the end of the game we were getting stronger and we were the quicker team. I thought our conditioning was better, too.”
The Steelers, who ended with a 13-6 record, had forced the Cowboys to punt on three of their first four possessions of the second half. Meantime, O’Donnell found his rhythm in the fourth quarter, leading a pair of long scoring drives sandwiched around a surprise onside kick to slice the Cowboys’ lead to 20-17 with 6 minutes 36 seconds remaining.
The onside kick was the fault of linebacker Dixon Edwards, the Cowboy on the far outside who didn’t respect the
possibility that Norm Johnson would kick onside. Johnson’s bouncing boot was recovered routinely by Deon Figures at the Pittsburgh 48, setting up a 52-yard touchdown drive capped by Bam Morris’ 1-yard run.
Then, after Pittsburgh inside linebacker Levon Kirkland vaulted Smith and sacked Troy Aikman for a loss of 8 yards, the Cowboys punted away to the Steelers at their 32 with 4:15 remaining.
The crowd of 76,347 had watched in forced excitement for much of the first three quarters. The Cowboys jumped to leads of 13-0 and 20-7, even though they weren’t playing particularly well. But with the Steelers, a 131⁄2-point underdog, on the verge of springing the most shocking Super Bowl upset since the New York Jets ambushed the Baltimore Colts as an 18-point underdog in Super Bowl III, the crowd came alive.
Only the Steelers couldn’t finish the job.
O’Donnell’s first-down pass was dropped by Andre Hastings 6 yards downfield.
On second down, the Steelers sent Corey Holliday wide right and Hastings to the slot right. The Cowboys ran a blitz, sending an additional rusher and dropping a defensive lineman into coverage. O’Donnell took a short drop, executing the drilled response to such a situation. He was pressured, but that wasn’t the problem. What happened was that Hastings ran the wrong route. Thus, O’Donnell’s pass into the short flat went right into the hands of Brown, who was playing in soft zone coverage.
He returned the ball 33 yards to the Pittsburgh 6. On second down, Smith cut off right tackle for a 4-yard touchdown to seal the victory. “It was a miscommunication,” Steelers offensive coordinator Ron Erhardt said. “He had a turn-in instead of the out. Neil was anticipating the out.”
Brown’s first interception, which he returned 44 yards midway in the third quarter to the Dallas 18, set up Smith’s first touchdown from 1 yard away.
On that play, defensive tackle Chad Hennings applied strong inside pressure on another blitz. The Steelers’ two wideouts on the right side adjusted their routes over the middle, but O’Donnell threw a horrible pass that slipped off his hand high and wide to Brown. “The ball just sailed on Neil,” Steelers coach Bill
Cowher said. “But hey, Neil got us here. I’m proud of how he played. We had a great run the last three months.”
The Steelers had lost only to Green Bay in winning 10 of their previous 11 games.
Actually, Brown was an unlikely choice as most valuable player. He was beaten repeatedly by O’Donnell and his excellent corps of wide receivers, who caught 23 passes for 214 yards.
Pittsburgh’s patient game plan, built around a wide variety of personnel groupings and formations, accounted for 310 yards and a near 8-minute edge in time of possession.
Led by Morris’ 73 yards in 19 rushes, the Steelers found success exploiting the undersized middle of the Cowboys’ defensive front seven.
They even found a way to block defensive
tackle Leon Lett and defensive end Charles Haley except for a play here and there. At times, they successfully attacked Deion Sanders. And they didn’t fumble, a season-long problem.
But while O’Donnell started slowly and had the one horrible mistake, his Dallas counterpart was mistake-free. After two of his first three passes were dropped, Aikman completed 10 in a row as the Cowboys assumed early control. Of their 50 plays, only one gained more than 23 yards. But that play, a 47-yard pass to Sanders against cornerback Willie Williams, led to a first-half touchdown.
If anything, the Cowboys were professional and efficient. “The play to Sanders was the same play we ran against the Packers in the playoffs last year for 94 yards,” Cowboys offensive coordinator
Ernie Zampese said. “The safety was responsible for the tight end in the 14- to 15-yard range, leaving the corner on the receiver.”
And the Steelers squandered what turned out to be precious scoring opportunities in the first half. Late in the first quarter, a sustained drive to the Dallas 36 ended on a punt when Dermontti Dawson’s shotgun snap sailed over O’Donnell for a loss of 13 yards.
So the Cowboys (15-4) prevailed, equaling San Francisco as the only franchise with five Super Bowl titles.
“This is, no doubt, the sweetest one of them all,” Dallas wide receiver Michael Irvin said. “You can put the other two together and this one outweighs them. That’s because of what we went through this year, because of the times people counted us out this year.”
Wearing N95 masks and plastic face shields, John Goodman, his wife, Alison McMillian, and their two teenage sons navigated the crowded streets outside Raymond James Stadium and settled into their Super Bowl seats about three hours before kickoff Sunday.
They were the first ones in their section. They wanted no part of the “craziness” taking place most everywhere else.
“We were pretty nervous about it,” said Goodman, who made the trip with his family from Greensboro, North Carolina.
They arrived in Orlando on Friday and made the 90-minute drive to Tampa the following day to “check out the scene” and grab dinner.
They took one look at all the maskless people and decided to drive back to Orlando.
So they weren’t surprised to see similar issues in and around the stadium Sunday. They were ready for it, though.
“Mom has us well protected,” Goodman said.
The NFL’s signature event – with the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs playing in the finale – looked nothing like any of the previous 54. About 25,000 fans were allowed to attend the game, with 7,500 of those being vaccinated healthcare workers. Another 30,000 cardboard cutouts filled empty seats to create space and meet social distancing mandates.
“The cardboard fans actually make it look like it’s full,” said Tampa native and longtime Bucs season ticket owner Matt Geer. “It feels like a real game again. It doesn’t feel programmed like many regular-season games did.”
Geer spent $9,000 to get a seat in the upper deck and said getting into the stadium was “a freaking zoo.”
“It was a pain. There was no direction,” he said. “There were only two ways to enter for fans and the signage was terrible. We lapped the stadium once before finally getting in.”
But well worth it.
“I been through a lot of downs with
this team,” Geer said. “I wasn’t going to let this pass. You can’t take your money with you.”
Those in attendance were required to wear face coverings throughout the game unless they were eating or drinking. Ushers holding signs enforced the rules that, by now, should be standard operating procedure. Nonetheless, violators could be found in every direction.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor issued an executive order last month requiring masks to be worn outside in the city’s most popular entertainment and recreation areas during Super Bowl festivities and the days following the event. No tailgating was allowed, either.
That did little to dissuade thousands from gathering around the stadium. The TikTok Tailgate went off just a few hundred yards from the south end zone, with sections of singing and dancing fans separated by metal barricades.
Miley Cyrus headlined the pre-game event and donned a black and hot pink cheerleader outfit during several songs. Her playlist included Nine Inch Nails’
“Head Like a Hole,” Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” and “Heart of Glass” by Blondie.
She was joined on stage by Billy Idol and Joan Jett for two songs.
Show of solidarity: Pregame festivities for the Super Bowl started with a video recording of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as players from Tampa Bay and Kansas City lined up on each goal line.
The NFL opened the season with the same show of racial solidarity and did it again before the final game. Both teams went to their locker rooms after the rendition by Alicia Keys.
The league chose “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as an addition to the national anthem for opening weekend and for the Super Bowl after a national reckoning over race sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis.
Eagles planning to trade Wentz soon: ESPN is reporting that the Eagles are expected to trade quarterback Carson Wentz in the coming days in what would be the latest blockbuster quarterback deal to rock the NFL.
The Eagles are said to be looking for, in the words of one well-placed source, “a Matthew Stafford package” in return for Wentz. The Lions traded Stafford to the Rams last weekend for a third-round pick this year, two future first-round picks and quarterback Jared Goff, the player selected directly in front of Wentz as the top two picks in the 2016 NFL draft.