The wait is finally over, as the 2023 NFL season is about to wrap up with a Super Bowl battle between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night.
On Thursday, the league handed out their annual awards at their NFL Honors show, and two Miami Dolphins were up for some hardware – Tyreek Hill for Offensive Player of the Year and Tua Tagovailoa for Comeback Player of the Year.
Hill appeared in 16 games, leading the league in receiving yards (1,799) and touchdowns (13) on 119 receptions. He set new franchise single-season records in receiving yards in 2023 after doing the same the year prior.
Tagovailoa dealt with some serious concussion issues in 2022 that kept him off the field for a significant portion of the season, including the team’s first playoff game since 2016. He bounced back with an impressive campaign that saw him play in all 17 regular-season games and lead the league in passing yards with a career-high 4,624. He also set career highs in completion percentage (69.3%) and touchdowns (29).
Despite their incredible seasons, neither Dolphin took home their respective trophies, as Christian McCaffrey was named the Offensive Player of the Year and Joe Flacco won Comeback Player of the Year.
Miami’s stars certainly had their cases, but the two winners did as well.
The Dolphins likely won’t have a candidate for Comeback Player of the Year next year, but they do have many who could win either Offensive or Defensive Player of the Year.