Ravens QB Jackson nabs unanimous MVP • Polamalu, James lead 5-person HOF class
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson on Saturday night became the second unanimous selection as the NFL’s Most Valuable Player.
Jackson swept all 50 votes from the Associated Press – as Tom Brady did in 2010 – to win the award, which was announced during the NFL Honors ceremony in Miami the night before Suday’s Super Bowl LIV between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs.
Jackson, 23, had a historic season in his second year in the NFL, throwing for 3,127 yards, a league-high 36 touchdowns and just six interceptions while also breaking Michael Vick’s single-season rushing record for a quarterback. Jackson piled up 1,206 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground, averaging a league-best 6.9 yards per carry.
As a team, the Ravens set an NFL record for total rushing yards in a season (3,296), finishing the regular season on a 12-game win streak to earn the AFC’s top seed in the playoffs.
Baltimore, which went on to lose its first playoff game against the Tennessee Titans, cleaned up in other regular-season awards as well. John Harbaugh was named Coach of the Year – making he and Jackson the first duo to win MVP and Coach of the Year on the same team since quarterback Cam Newton and
Ron Rivera of the 2015 Panthers – and offensive coordinator Greg Roman was named Assistant Coach of the Year.
History was also made on the defensive side, where New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore was named Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first true cornerback to earn that honor since Deion Sanders in 1994. Gilmore tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions, including two he returned for touchdowns, and also tied for the lead with 20 passes defensed. He had 53 tackles and helped New England finish No. 1 in total defense (275.9 yards per game) and scoring defense (14.1 points per game).
For Offensive Player of the Year, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas narrowly clipped Jackson, winning by two votes to claim the honor.
Thomas, who broke Marvin
Harrison’s single-season receptions record with 149, is the second wideout to ever win the award, joining two-time winner Jerry Rice (1987, 1993).
Among other awards, Titans QB Ryan Tannehill earned one more vote than San Francisco 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo to win Comeback Player of the Year. The 49ers weren’t shut out of the awards, however, as No. 2 overall pick Nick Bosa claimed Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in a landslide.
The No. 1 overall pick, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, won Offensive Rookie of the Year, beating out Oakland Raiders running back Josh Jacobs and Titans receiver A.J. Brown.
It was the fourth time in NFL history the draft’s top two picks won both rookie awards.
In other news from Saturday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced five new members to round out its
Centennial Class of 2020, as Troy Polamalu, Edgerrin James, Isaac Bruce, Steve Atwater and Steve Hutchinson were named for induction in Canton this summer.
The Hall’s five newest members complete this year’s special class of 20 – the others were announced in January – that will be formally enshrined August 8 in Canton, Ohio. The five modern-era enshrinees were selected by the board of selectors of the Hall of Fame.
Polamalu made eight Pro Bowls in leading his Pittsburgh Steelers to three Super Bowl appearances in 12 seasons, winning championships in the 2006 and 2009 seasons.
James won rushing titles in each of his first two NFL seasons in 1999 and 2000, teaming with QB Peyton Manning and Hall of Fame wideout Marvin Harrison as the Indianapolis Colts produced one of the NFL’s scariest offenses at the start of the millennium.
Bruce ranks fifth in league history in receiving yards (15,208), 13th in receptions (1,024) and 12th in touchdown catches (91). He notched eight 1,000-yard receiving seasons and was part of the iconic “Greatest Show on Turf” St. Louis Rams teams of the late 1990s – with his game-winning 73-yard touchdown giving the Rams a Super Bowl XXXIV title.
Atwater, a long-time Denver Broncos safety, made eight Pro Bowls in a nine-season stretch from 1990-98 and spearheaded the Broncos defense to three Super Bowl trips and two championships in 1997-98.
Hutchinson was one of the most dominant offensive linemen of his generation. As a longtime Seattle Seahawk and Minnesota Viking, he made seven consecutive Pro Bowl trips from 2003-09, earning five first-team All-Pro selections.
The previously announced Hall of Fame inductees of this year’s class include 10 former players: former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Harold Carmichael, former Chicago Bears tackle Jim Covert, former Green Bay Packers safety Bobby Dillon, former Cowboys safety Cliff Harris, former New York Jets tackle Winston Hill, former Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras, former Steelers safety Donnie Shell, former Cleveland Browns receiver Mac Speedie, former Bears defensive end Ed Sprinkle, and two-way lineman Duke Slater, an African-American pioneer in the early years of the NFL.
Former head coaches Jimmy Johnson and Bill Cowher, former league commissioner Paul Tagliabue, ex-New York Giants GM George Young and NFL Films executive Steve Sabol round out the Hall class.
(Reuters)