Category: Awards

Penei Sewell headlines 4 Lions earning 1st-team All-Pro honors in 2024

Penei Sewell headlines 4 Lions earning 1st-team All-Pro honors in 2024, with two more Lions also earning 2nd-team nods

There are a lot of end-of-season awards and honors lists around these days. The one that matters the most, the one the NFL itself utilizes in its official records, is the Associated Press All-Pro voting results.

The 50 AP voters around the country voted following the end of the 2024 regular season, with the results being released on Friday. Four Detroit Lions players earned first-team All-Pro honors:

Right tackle Penei Sewell

Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown

Safety Kerby Joseph

Punter Jack Fox

In addition, two Lions earned second-team All-Pro recognition. Center Frank Ragnow and punt returner Kalif Raymond captured that honor.

One Vikings player is named to the 2024 NFLPA All-Pro Team

One Minnesota Viking made the NFLPA’s third-annual All-Pro team.

The NFL Players Association released its third-annual All-Pro team on Wednesday. One Minnesota Vikings player was represented on the team.

Justin Jefferson was one of two wide receivers selected to the team, joining Cincinnati Bengals wideout Ja’Marr Chase. This is the second time in three years that Jefferson has made the team.

It was another spectacular season for Jefferson. He caught 103 passes for 1,533 yards and ten touchdowns. This marked the third time in his career that he reached 100 receptions and 1,500 yards, becoming just the fifth player in NFL history to do so.

This is the only team that NFL players exclusively vote on. JC Tretter, who now serves as the NFLPA’s chief strategy officer, laid out the voting process when the 2022 team was announced:

  • Only active NFL players can vote and they get only one vote.
  • If a player missed five or more games as of Week 15, then they are ineligible. This is to ensure that we are choosing the best players who had the most impact this season. Being available counts.
  • Players cannot vote for themselves or for their own teammates
  • Players vote for the position group they play in and line up against.
    • For example, centers can vote for:
      • The best Center in the league
      • The best nose tackle in the league
      • The best Interior defensive lineman in the league
      • The best off-ball linebacker in the league

The process makes sense, as players can only devote their attention to so many players and positions during the grind of an NFL season. It may not take an eight-year veteran to realize that Jefferson has once again been one of the league’s best receivers. But it’s fun to know that he has the respect of his peers.

Jahymr Gibbs nominated for FedEx Ground Player of the Week

Jahymr Gibbs nominated for FedEx Ground Player of the Week for his 4-TD performance against the Vikings, and you can vote for Gibbs here

Fresh off his record-setting performance in Detroit’s Week 18 domination of the Minnesota Vikings, Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs is one of the three nominees for the weekly FedEx Ground Player of the Week.

Gibbs ran for 139 yards and three touchdowns in Sunday night’s win in Ford Field. Just for good measure, he also tacked on 31 receiving yards and another score. His four-TD performance tied the Lions’ single-game record and gave Gibbs the NFL’s touchdown crown in 2024, with 20.

From the press release, here’s how you can vote for Gibbs:

FedEx gives fans the opportunity to recognize the best performances from skill position players each week of the season by voting at NFL.com/FedEx. As a reminder, there are no longer positional restrictions for the FedEx Air & Ground Players of the Week Awards. The two players with the highest number of votes – regardless of position – will be named FedEx Air & Ground Players of the Week when voting closes at 3:00 PM ET on Wednesday.

Sam Darnold has a chance to win Comeback Player of the Year after all

Sam Darnold’s Comeback Player of the Year hopes stay alive as AP confirms ballots won’t be rejected, despite debates over eligibility rules.

Sam Darnold could still win Comeback Player of the Year. According to Pro Football Talk, the Associated Press won’t reject ballots with Darnold’s name on them.

It was believed going into the season that Darnold wouldn’t be eligible for the award because he wasn’t coming back from injury or other physical ailments. He spent the 2023 season backing up Brock Purdy in San Fransisco after flaming out with the Jets and Panthers. Coming back from underperforming on the field wouldn’t qualify.

Buzz about Darnold’s potentially winning the award began when he won the NFC’s Offensive Player of the Month. He was meeting the expectations of a starting NFL QB for the first time in his career.

In October, Rob Maaddi of the AP went to social media to clarify what attributes qualify a player for the award.

“[T]he spirit of the award is to honor a player who has demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity by overcoming illness, physical injury or other circumstances that led him to miss playing time the previous season.”

But now it appears the AP won’t hold voters to those guidelines. They will expect voters to adhere to these standards but won’t reject ballots that stray from the “spirit of the award.”

It may not matter in the end. Joe Burrow would be an MVP frontrunner if the Bengals were a better team, but he has recovered from a wrist injury that prematurely ended his 2023 season. By definition, he would be the ideal candidate for the award.

Still, Darnold has been the league’s feel-good story of 2024. And it looks like he has a chance to win some hardware for his accomplishments this season.

 

Kevin O’Connell is the favorite to win the Coach of the Year award

Kevin O’Connell is the runaway favorite for Coach of the Year after leading the Vikings to a 14-2 record.

Kevin O’Connell is now the runaway favorite to win the NFL’s Coach of the Year award after leading the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-2 record. They are one win away from winning the NFC North and securing home-field advantage in the playoffs.

O’Connell’s odds of winning Coach of the Year are -1200, according to BetMGM. Dan Campbell is the only head coach who has any shot of catching him, but he is still a long shot at +600. Andy Reid and Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn are tied for third with odds of +4000.

This isn’t the first time O’Connell has been a candidate for the award. He finished sixth in voting after leading the Vikings to a 13-4 record in 2022. Fellow first-year head coach Brian Daboll won the award when he led the New York Giants to a 9-8 record.

A loss to Campbell and the Lions this Sunday likely won’t affect O’Connell’s odds too much. But a victory would all but clinch the award.

Kerby Joseph one of biggest Pro Bowl snubs

Lions safety Kerby Joseph is one of biggest Pro Bowl snubs from the 2024 NFL season

Seven Lions players were named to the Pro Bowl roster, which was announced Thursday. Safety Kerby Joseph was not one of those seven. Instead, it was Green Bay Packers’ safety Xavier McKinney who got the nod at free safety.

The NFL’s interceptions leader was not named to the initial Pro Bowl roster. In fact, he’s not even the first alternate at the position. He’s the second alternate.

McKinney certainly had a case for the Pro Bowl with seven interceptions. But Joseph has more interceptions (9 vs. 7), passes defended (12 vs. 10) and has a pick-six. Joseph was the voting leader among fans at the free safety position, but the roster is ultimately comprised of consensus voting of fans, players and coaches, with all three counting for one-third.

Kevin Patra of NFL.com named Joseph as his No. 2 snub overall, behind Houston’s Danielle Hunter.

Voters might have chosen the wrong Lions safety. I jotted down that line before Joseph came up with two additional interceptions, changing the game in a Week 17 win over San Francisco. That’s not a knock on Brian Branch, who has been sensational; it’s just that Branch’s play seems to have somehow overshadowed Joseph’s. The Lions free safety owns a league-high nine INTs, two more than the next-closest player (Packers Pro Bowler Xavier McKinney). The majority of those have come in high-leverage situations, with Joseph taking away points via end-zone interceptions (four). The ballhawk’s advanced metrics blow those of other DBs out of the water. Per NGS, he’s No. 1 in target EPA (-55.3) this season (No. 2 is Cooper DeJean at -28.3), EPA per target (-1.84; McKinney is at -0.75) and ballhawk rate, or the percentage of targets where the nearest defender made a play on the football via a pass defensed or INT (40%). The Lions’ defense might have become a sieve due to injuries, but Joseph has helped keep the patchwork crew from completely crumbling.

Ultimately, Joseph and the Lions want to be in New Orleans, anyway, for Super Bowl LIX. But leaving him off the Pro Bowl still has to sting. Joseph has had an incredible season, but perhaps the name recognition of Xavier McKinney overshadowed that play. Joseph will have a chance to prove the doubters wrong in the playoffs.

On Player of the Week awards, LeBron James is the GOAT by far

Since Julius Erving won the first NBA Player of the Week award back in 1979, many basketball greats have collected a huge number of weekly accolades from the league. But really, it’s not that close at No. 1. In his 22 seasons as a pro, LeBron James …

Since Julius Erving won the first NBA Player of the Week award back in 1979, many basketball greats have collected a huge number of weekly accolades from the league. But really, it’s not that close at No. 1.

In his 22 seasons as a pro, LeBron James has won the award an NBA record 68 times – which is more than No. 2 and No. 3 in the list combined. The league started naming one Player of the Week for each conference in 2001-02, which helps LeBron here. Then again, his numbers are staggering.

You can check the full ranking below…

Ranking: The 24 best NBA players of 2024

HoopsHype ranks the 24 best basketball players of the year 2024, considering 2023-24, 2024-25 Olympics, 2024 NBA Cup competition and more.

2024 was a somewhat unique year in the basketball world in that not only did we have 2023-24 and 2024-25 NBA regular season action, as well as the 2024 playoffs, but we also had the 2024 NBA Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics, giving us a huge sample size of high-level games to look at.

As such, today, we’re going to take into account all of those important events, some more prestigious than others, to rank the 24 best NBA players for the entire calendar year of 2024.

(Note: The NBA stats listed below each player take into account every NBA game played by the player in 2024, including the 2023-24 regular season, the 2024 play-in tournament, the 2024 playoffs, the 2024-25 regular season so far and the 2024 NBA Cup.)

MVP vote: All the rankings of NBA legends

MVP is the most important individual accolade an NBA player can win, so we decided to put together a list of how legends did in MVP voting throughout their careers, ranking them by the number of seasons they received votes. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar owns …

MVP is the most important individual accolade an NBA player can win, so we decided to put together a list of how legends did in MVP voting throughout their careers, ranking them by the number of seasons they received votes.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar owns the record for most MVPs for one player with six and it will be very hard to beat, but he’s not the leader in most seasons with MVP votes, which belongs to LeBron James with 19.

In case you’re wondering, Michael Jordan comes at No. 6 in this ranking, receiving votes in merely 13 seasons.

Check out the rest of these rankings below.

Norman Powell: ‘I thought about quitting basketball a few times’

Los Angeles Clippers guard Norman Powell discussed how he’s become a Most Improved Player and NBA All-Star candidate after nearly quitting basketball with HoopsHype Senior NBA Insider Michael Scotto. Plus, Powell’s NBA journey, how the Clippers have transitioned without Kawhi Leonard and moved on from Paul George with his help and James Harden, how Intuit Dome has changed the organization, Steve Ballmer stories behind the scenes, and the goals behind his Understand The Grind foundation and clothing brand.

Los Angeles Clippers guard Norman Powell has become a Most Improved Player of the Year and All-Star candidate in his 10th season. Yet, the California native nearly walked away from basketball before his career began.

After overcoming depression and doubts to make his dream a reality, Powell hopes to influence the next generation to chase their dreams and be an inspiration.

Powell discussed the goals behind his Understand The Grind foundation and clothing brand, his NBA journey to become a Most Improved Player and All-Star candidate, how the Clippers have transitioned without Kawhi Leonard and moved on from Paul George with his help and James Harden, how Intuit Dome has changed the organization, Steve Ballmer stories behind the scenes, and more with HoopsHype.