Tag: award

Twitter reacts to Pat Surtain winning Defensive Player of the Year

Broncos CB Pat Surtain has been named the Defensive Player of the Year. Here’s how Twitter reacted to the news.

Denver Broncos star cornerback Pat Surtain was named the NFL’s 2024 Defensive Player of the Year during NFL Honors on Thursday night.

Here’s a sampling of how fans and pundits reacted to the news on Twitter/X.

Surtain, 24, is the seventh cornerback in NFL history to win the award and the second Bronco to take home the honor, joining Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Randy Gradishar (1978).

Already considered the game’s best cornerback, Surtain is now recognized as the best defensive player in the NFL.

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Pat Surtain makes NFL history with Defensive Player of the Year award

Pat Surtain is just the seventh cornerback to win Defensive Player of the Year, and he’s the second Bronco, joining Randy Gradishar (1978).

Denver Broncos star cornerback Pat Surtain has been named the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year, the league announced during NFL Honors on Thursday evening.

Surtain, 24, is just the seventh cornerback to ever win the award and the second Bronco in franchise history to take home the honor, joining Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Randy Gradishar (1978).

The previous six cornerbacks to win the award were Stephon Gilmore (2019), Charles Woodson (2009), Deion Sanders (1994), Rod Woodson (1993), Lester Hayes (1980) and Mel Blount (1975). Of those defensive backs, only Gilmore (an active player) and Hayes are not in the Hall of Fame.

Surtain also earned a first-team All-Pro nod in 2024, becoming the third cornerback in club history to receive that honor multiple times, joining Louis Wright and Champ Bailey.

PS2 ranked first in passing yards allowed (306), yards allowed per coverage snap (0.6) and target rate (10.9) in 2024 among qualified cornerbacks (at 400 coverage snaps), according to NFL NextGen Stats.

Surtain totaled four interceptions and 11 pass breakups in 2024, marking his fourth-straight year with double-digit PBUs. His four takeaways tied a career-high, and his 100-yard pick-six last fall was a career-long.

Surtain is widely considered the best cornerback in the NFL, and this season, he was the best defensive player in the league.

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Jayden Daniels wins Offensive Rookie of the Year over Bo Nix

Jayden Daniels won the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award over Bo Nix. Both QBs appear to have bright futures in the NFL.

It’s no surprise, but it’s now official: Jayden Daniels is the NFL’s 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year, as voted on by the Associated Press.

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix had one of the best rookie seasons in NFL history in 2024, but Daniels was even better. The Washington Commanders’ rookie ended the regular season with a 12-5 record and then helped his team reach the NFC Championship game. Quite an impressive first season in the NFL.

Nix completed 66.3% of his passes for 3,775 yards and 29 touchdowns against 12 interceptions this season. Daniels posted a 69% completion rate with 3,568 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Nix was sacked 24 times and fumbled three times. Daniels was sacked 47 times and fumbled five times. On the ground, Nix totaled 430 rushing yards, 41 first downs and four touchdowns. Daniels rushed for 891 yards, 55 first downs and six scores, clearly separating from Nix in that category.

Nix also caught a touchdown pass in 2024, a feat that Daniels did not match. Both QBs deserve recognition for their impressive rookie seasons, and they appear to have bright futures in the NFL.

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Broncos up for 10 awards at 2025 NFL Honors

The Broncos are up for 10 awards on NFL Honors tonight.

With the Super Bowl now just three days away, the league is set to honor some of the top performers from the 2024 NFL season on Thursday night.

NFL Honors, a two-hour awards show, will be held in New Orleans tonight with the game’s best players and coaches getting recognized. The Denver Broncos are candidates for 10 honors this year, including three major awards.

Broncos coach Sean Payton (Coach of the Year), quarterback Bo Nix (Offensive Rookie of the Year) and cornerback Pat Surtain (Defensive Player of the Year) are all finalists for major awards. View the full list of Denver’s nominees below.

Broncos potential awards on NFL Honors

  1. AP Defensive Player of the Year: Pat Surtain finalist
  2. AP Coach of the Year: Sean Payton nominated
  3. AP Offensive Rookie of the Year: Bo Nix nominated
  4. Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year: Alex Singleton nominated
  5. Salute to Service Award: Keith Bishop nominated
  6. Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award: Jonathon Cooper nominated
  7. NFL Fan of the Year: Shelly Jenks nominated
  8. Next Gen Stats Moment of the Year: To be announced
  9. Celebrations of the Year: Finalists to be announced
  10. NFL Inspire Change Tribute: To be announced

NFL Honors will begin at 9 p.m. ET on Fox and NFL Network, but it will not air live in all time zones. Check your local listings for the broadcast time in your area. The awards show will be available to stream on FuboTV (try it free).

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Pat Surtain can right the wrong of Champ Bailey’s 2006 DPOY snub

Eighteen years after Champ Bailey was snubbed for Defensive Player of the Year, Broncos CB Pat Surtain is the favorite to win the award.

Champ Bailey was an elite shutdown cornerback, with the best two-year stretch of his career coming with the Denver Broncos from 2005-2006.

Bailey led the NFL with 10 interceptions in 2006, including a 70-yard pick-six. In addition to the 10 takeaways, Bailey also totaled 86 tackles, 21 pass breakups and one forced fumble that season.

Bailey was the NFL’s best cornerback, earning a first-team All-Pro nod and a Pro Bowl selection. He also should have won Defensive Player of the Year, but voters gave that honor to former Miami Dolphins pass rusher Jason Taylor instead.

Taylor totaled 13.5 sacks in 2006 (the same total as Nik Bonitto in 2024). He also forced nine fumbles and scored two defensive touchdowns. Taylor finished first in DPOY voting and Bailey ended up second.

Eighteen seasons later, current Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain could right the wrong of Bailey being snubbed in 2006.

Surtain is considered the favorite to win DPOY after totaling 11 pass breakups and four interceptions in 2024 while only allowing 306 passing yards, fewest among qualified cornerbacks this season.

Cincinnati Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson led the NFL with 17.5 sacks in 2024, but he did not post any takeaways or defensive touchdowns. Hendrickson is likely Surtain’s biggest competition for the award.

The DPOY award will be announced during NFL Honors tonight.

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Pat Surtain responds to Champ Bailey and reacts to possibility of DPOY award

Champ Bailey’s praise “means a lot” to Pat Surtain, who also said it would be “a huge honor” to win the Defensive Player of the Year award.

Hall of Famer and former Denver Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey recently said current cornerback Pat Surtain is “on a Hall of Fame path.”

Surtain responded to Bailey’s praise during an interview promoting Tide evo with Broncos Wire’s Brandon Walker last week.

“I mean, it means a lot, especially coming from a guy like him who’s done that in a high-level,” Surtain said. “When you get respect from your peers, that’s the highest honor you could get. It means a lot coming from him specifically.”

Surtain also had the chance to address the possibility of becoming only the seventh cornerback and second Bronco (the other being Randy Gradishar in 1978) in the history of the league to win the Defensive Player of the Year award.

“Shoot man, it’d mean a lot,” Surtain said of potentially winning DPOY. “Especially knowing that the margin is pretty slim for cornerbacks to win it, but yeah, it’d be a huge honor. It was something that I worked for. It was a big goal of mine to reach that at the end of the year so it’ll definitely be a huge honor to add to my accolade sheet.”

Surtain spoke to Broncos Wire while promoting Tide evo, a laundry detergent that leverages tens of thousands of minuscule fibers, creating layers of soap without unnecessary liquid and fillers.

Surtain isn’t the only Bronco who was nominated for season-long Associated Press awards following the 2024 season. Sean Payton was also nominated for Coach of the Year and quarterback Bo Nix was nominated for Offensive Rookie of the Year. The winners will be announced during “NFL Honors” on Thursday night.

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Pat Surtain and Bo Nix nominated for Fox’s end-of-season awards

Fox has nominated Broncos QB Pat Surtain for DPOY and QB Bo Nix for OROY. Go vote!

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix and cornerback Pat Surtain are both finalists for some of the biggest individual awards in the game at the NFL Honors, which will air on Feb. 6.

Surtain is a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year, while Nix is a finalist for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Both had incredible years, with Nix setting several franchise and NFL records throughout the season.

In addition to those AP award nominations, Surtain and Nix have also been nominated for Fox’s DPOY and OROY end-of-season awards. Fans can vote for both Surtain and Nix on the NFLonFOX YouTube channel.

Surtain finished the year with “the most dominant season of his four-year career in 2024, matching a career high in interceptions and posting his fourth consecutive season with at least 10 passes defensed,” said a report via the team’s website. “(Surtain) also made several game-changing plays, including a 100-yard pick six in Week 5 vs. the (Las Vegas) Raiders.”

Nix had one of the best seasons for a rookie quarterback in franchise history. With a 10-win season, Nix set the Broncos’ rookie record for wins, while also setting Denver records for passing touchdowns and yards, among other league records during his 2024 campaign.

Get your vote in today!

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Vance Joseph not among Assistant Coach of the Year finalists (one ex-Bronco is)

Vance Joseph is not a finalist for Assistant Coach of the Year, but Vic Fangio is.

The Associated Press announced finalists for its 2024 end-of-season NFL awards last week and three Denver Broncos were recognized.

Broncos coach Sean Payton (Coach of the Year), cornerback Pat Surtain (Defensive Player of the Year) and quarterback Bo Nix (Offensive Rookie of the Year) are all finalists to take home hardware following the 2024 season.

Denver’s defensive coordinator, Vance Joseph, is not among the five Assistant Coach of the Year finalists. Instead, Buffalo Bills OC Joe Brady, Philadelphia Eagles DC Vic Fangio, Minnesota Vikings DC Brian Flores and former Detroit Lions coordinators Aaron Glenn (DC) and Ben Johnson (OC) were nominated.

Fangio, of course, is a former Broncos head coach. Philly’s defense allowed 17.8 points per game in 2024, second-fewest in the NFL. Denver’s defense ranked third, allowing 18.3 PPG. Minnesota (19.5) ranked fourth and Detroit (20.1) ranked sixth.

The AP‘s award winners will be announced during NFL Honors on Feb. 6. The awards show will begin at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on Fox and NFL Network, but the program will not air live in all time zones.

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Broncos OLB Jonah Elliss had shoulder surgery; made All-Rookie team

Broncos OLB Jonah Elliss underwent shoulder surgery after making the PFWA’s All-Rookie Team in 2024.

Denver Broncos outside linebacker Jonah Elliss underwent should surgery last week, his father, Luther Elliss, confirmed to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis.

Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette previously broke the news about Elliss suffering a fractured scapula bone in the team’s playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills. At the time of the initial report, it was not yet known if the pass rusher would undergo surgery.

Elliss (6-2, 246 pounds) eventually did undergo surgery, putting his status in doubt for the team’s offseason program this spring.

The Broncos picked Elliss in the third round of last year’s NFL draft out of Utah. He served as a rotational outside linebacker in his rookie season, totaling 38 tackles, six quarterback hits, five sacks and two pass breakups in 17 games (playing 38% of the defensive snaps).

Following his impressive season, Elliss made the Pro Football Writers of America’s All-Rookie Team. He was Denver’s only player to take home that honor following the 2024 season.

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Two former Wisconsin Badgers named finalists for NFL Defensive Player of the Year

Two former Wisconsin Badgers finalists for NFL Defensive Player of the Year

Former Wisconsin Badgers Zack Baun (Philadelphia Eagles) and T.J. Watt (Pittsburgh Steelers) were named finalists for the AP Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday.

The inclusions are no surprise after the two were named first (Baun) and second-team All-Pro (Watt). The two are finalists for the award, along with Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson and Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain.

Related: Recapping Wisconsin football’s winter transfer portal movement

Watt is a perennial contender for the league-wide honor. The Wisconsin legend won it in 2021, finished second in 2020 and 2023, and was third in 2019. The seven-time Pro Bowl participant has four All-Pro first-team honors, plus this year’s second-team nod.

Watt finished the 2024 campaign with 61 tackles, 27 quarterback hits, 19 tackles for loss, 11 1/2 sacks, six forced fumbles and four pass deflections. Those numbers, while impressive, failed to increase over the last month of the season. Watt tallied just two total tackles and one for loss over the final three weeks. He then failed to crack the stat sheet during the Steelers’ playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Baun, on the other hand, is one of the best stories from the 2024 NFL season. The former Wisconsin pass-rusher (2016-19) struggled to find a role with the New Orleans Saints after he was a third-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft. He signed a small one-year contract with the Eagles last offseason, figuring to add depth to the linebacker room and special teams unit.

Instead, Baun broke out with 151 tackles (sixth-highest in the NFL), 11 for loss, five quarterback hits, 3 1/2 sacks, one interception, four pass deflections and five forced fumbles. He led an Eagles defense to a No. 2 finish in scoring defense (17.8 points per game) and No. 1 in total defense (278.4 yards per game).

Baun’s play is a big reason the Eagles are set to host the NFC championship game on Sunday.

The 2024 NFL Defensive Player of the Year will be announced during the NFL Honors ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 6. Patrick Surtain (45 tackles, four interceptions) is the current favorite to win the award.

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