The 2023 - 2024 National Football League Awards

Introduction

On Thursday, February 8th, 2024, the best of the National Football League were gathered at the Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas, Nevada for last Thursday's annual NFL Honors and Awards show.

The Baltimore Ravens quarterback, Lamar Jackson, pulled in his second MVP award after winning it back in 2019. The San Francisco 49ers superstar running back Christian McCaffrey won Offensive Player of the Year. Houston Texans rookie quarterback C. J. Stroud took home Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

The Cleveland Browns defensive end, Myles Garrett, won his first Defensive Player of the Year honor. The Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. won the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. The Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was voted Coach of the Year for the 2nd - time over his NFL coaching career. The Cleveland Browns quarterback in Joe Flacco was named the Comeback Player of the Year. Here is a look at who took home all the hardware from Las Vegas.

MVP

Lamar Jackson - QB - Baltimore Ravens

There was not much of a surprise for the National Football League's biggest individual award of the MVP going to Lamar Jackson once again after being the betting favorite for the last 6 - weeks.

Lamar has now joined a select group in winning the NFL Most Valuable Player for the 2nd - time. Jackson became just the 5th - player in the all - time history of the NFL to win multiple MVP awards throughout his initial 6 - NFL seasons in the pro football. The others were the amazing Jim Brown, Kurt Warner, Brett Favre, and Patrick Mahomes. Quite excellent company homeboy.

In leading the Baltimore Ravens to an NFL - best 13 and 4 record, Lamar ranked in the top - 10 during this NFL season in Total QBR (64.7), yards per pass attempt (8.0), and touchdown - to -interception ratio (3.4). Jackson also led the National Football League in yards per rush (5.5), not just among QB’s.

Continuing to be the NFL's best dual threat, Jackson totaled 3,678 - passing yards and 821 - rushing yards. Lamar is the only player to produce over 3,000 - passing and 800 - rushing multiple times, winning MVP in both NFL seasons he has accomplished this feat (2019 - 2020 and 2023 - 2024).

Lamar overtook the San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Brock Purdy, as the MVP award frontrunner on Christmas, when Jackson guided his Baltimore Ravens to a 33 to 19 win at San Francisco against the 2023 - 2024 NFC Champion 49ers. Jackson then essentially secured the highly - coveted award just a week later in a 56 - 19 spanking of the Miami Dolphins, when he recorded a perfect passer rating of 158.3 as well as throwing 5 - touchdown passes.

Jackson’s Football Career Achievements, Honors, & Awards

• 2 - Time NFL Most Valuable Player Award Winner (2019, 2023)
• 2 - Time First - Team NFL All - Pro Selection (2019, 2023)
• 3 - Time NFL Pro Bowl Selection (2019, 2021, 2023)
• NFL Passing Touchdowns Leader (2019)
• Bert Bell Award Winner (2019)
• Heisman Trophy Award Winner (2016)
• Maxwell Award Winner (2016)
• Walter Camp Award Winner (2016)
• Associated Press College Football Player of the Year Award Winner (2016)
• Sports Nation Player of the Year Award Winner (2016)
• Unanimous All - American Selection (2016)
• ACC Athlete of the Year Award Winner (2018)
• 2 - Time ACC Player of the Year Award Winner (2016, 2017)
• 2 - Time ACC Offensive Player of the Year Award Winner (2016, 2017)
• 2 - Time First - Team All - ACC Selection (2016, 2017)
• Louisville Cardinals Ring of Honoree
• Louisville Cardinals Retired Lamar Jackson’s Number 8

Jackson’s NFL Records

• Single - Season Rushing Yards by a Quarterback with 1,206 (2019)
• 1,000 - Yard Rushing Seasons by a Quarterback with 2 (2019, 2020)
• Games with a Perfect Passer Rating in a Single - Season with 2 (2019; tied)
• Games with 100 Rushing Yards by a Quarterback with 12
• Playoff Games with 100 Rushing Yards by a Quarterback with 3

Offensive Player of the Year

Christian McCaffrey - RB - San Francisco 49ers

In Christian’s 1st - full season with the San Francisco Niners, McCaffrey delivered one of the most productive seasons in franchise as well as NFL history. Christian led the National Football League in scrimmage yards per game with 126.4, scrimmage touchdowns with 21, rushing yards with 1,459, first downs with 114, and 10 - plus yard runs with 44 while playing just 16 - games.

Those stats were enough to earn Christian a Pro Bowl berth and a first - team Associated Press NFL All - Pro honors as he also added his name to the NFL record books once again. McCaffrey pushed his total career games with a rushing and receiving score in the same game to 15, tied with Marshall Faulk for the most in NFL history, and he became the only the 3rd - player in NFL history to compile more than 2,000 - scrimmage yards in a single NFL regular season for 2 - different NFL franchises.

"Everyone has those gym rats who just work so hard. ... We got a guy like that, who's also one of the most talented people in the league," the San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan stated.

McCaffrey’s Football Career Achievements, Honors, & Awards

• NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award Winner (2023)
• 2 - Time First - Team NFL All - Pro Selection (2019, 2023)
• Second - Team NFL All - Pro Selection (2018)
• 3 - Time NFL Pro Bowl Selection (2019, 2022, 2023)
• NFL Rushing Yards Leader (2023)
• Paul Hornung Award Winner (2015)
• Jet Award Winner (2015)
• Associated Press College Football Player of the Year Award Winner (2015)
• Consensus All - American Selection (2015)
• Pac - 12 Offensive Player of the Year Award Winner (2015)
• 2 Time First - Team All - Pac - 12 Selection (2015, 2016)

McCaffrey’s NFL Records

• Most Consecutive Games with a Touchdown with 17 (tied)

Defensive Player of the Year

Myles Garrett - DE - Cleveland Browns

After several seasons contending for this illustrious NFL award, Myles finally got over the hump this year as he captured his 1st - NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award honor.

Garrett ranked just 7th with 14 - sacks, but Myles also spear - headed the NFL's best regular -season defense with the stifling Cleveland Browns - D. The Cleveland Browns led the NFL in defensive efficiency, yards per game allowed with 267, and three - and - out rate at 32.9 %, among multiple other categories. Myles also finished 2nd in pass rush win rate at 30.5 % despite facing the third highest double - team rate at 28.8 %. In other words, you cannot stop Garrett no matter how you try to block him up front.

The Cleveland Browns won 4 - consecutive games late in the year, culminating with a playoff - clinching victory over the N. Y. Jets back on December 28th, 2023. During that period, Garrett had 35 pass - rush wins, and only one other edge rusher had more than 20 (the Pittsburgh Steelers’ T. J. Watt who had 26).

"I know the focus is on sack numbers," the general manager of the Cleveland Browns in Andrew Berry explained. "That really doesn't tell the whole story. ... He played at a really high level for us down the stretch."

Garrett’s Football Career Achievements, Honors, & Awards

• NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award Winner (2023)
• 3 - Time First - Team NFL All - Pro Selection (2020, 2021, 2023)
• 2 - Time Second - Team NFL All - Pro Selection (2018, 2022)
• 5 - Time NFL Pro Bowl Selection (2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
• PFWA All - Rookie Team Selection (2017)
• Bill Willis Trophy Award Winner (2015)
• Unanimous All - American Selection (2016)
• First - Team All - American Selection (2015)
• 2 - Time First - Team All - SEC Selection (2015, 2016)
• Second - Team All - SEC Selection (2014)

Offensive Rookie of the Year

C. J. Stroud - QB - Houston Texans

C. J. earned this coveted award through achieving his countless rookie records in which he either tied or set over the course of the 2023 - 2024 NFL season. The former Ohio State QB standout that led the Houston Texans to their 1st - divisional title since the year of 2019, and he was the 1st - quarterback drafted in the top 2 of the NFL draft since 1967 to win a playoff game during his rookie campaign playing with the big boys in NFL. That victory also marked Stroud as the youngest player to win a playoff contest as he just passed Michael Vick.

Stroud just recently set the NFL record for most pass attempts without an interception to start his career with 191. C. J. carried that momentum by leading the league in touchdown - to - interception ratio with a ratio of 23:5.

C. J. finished the 2023 - 2024 NFL regular season with 4,108 - passing yards (the 3rd most for a rookie behind Andrew Luck with 4,374 back in 2012, and Justin Herbert with 4,336 in 2020. Stroud’s highest passing mark occurred in week - 9 versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when he threw for an amazing 470 - yards (the most ever by a rookie).

Stroud’s Football Career Achievements, Honors, & Awards

• NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award Winner (2023)
• NFL Pro Bowl Selection (2023)
• PFWA All - Rookie Team Selection (2023)
• 2 - Time Graham - George Offensive Player of the Year Award Winner (2021, 2022)
• 2 - Time Griese - Brees Quarterback of the Year Award Winner (2021, 2022)
• Thompson - Randle El Freshman of the Year Award Winner (2021)
• Second - Team All - American Selection (2022)
• Third - Team All - American Selection (2021)
• 2 - Time First - Team All - Big Ten Selection (2021, 2022)

Stroud’s NFL Records

• Passing Yards in a Game by a Rookie with 470
• Passing Touchdowns in a Game by a Rookie with 5 (tied)
• Most Passes without an Interception to Start a Career with 191
• Youngest Starting Quarterback to Win a Playoff Game at 22 - years 3 - months 10 - days
• Passing Touchdowns in a Playoff Game by a Rookie with 3 (tied)

Defensive Rookie of the Year

Will Anderson Jr. - DE - Houston Texans

When Will came to the Houston Texans, he wanted to set a strong standard that the rookies were here to, "change the culture." Anderson Jr. was a straightaway impactful player on the gridiron as he recorded a sack on the elusive Lamar Jackson during week - 1 of the 2023 - 2024 NFL regular season.

Although his sack numbers slowed down towards the tail end of the season, he was still toward the top in advanced analytical metrics. The number 3 pick in the NFL draft ranked 3rd in pass rush win rate at 25.8 %. Will also impacted the run game, as he was 6th in run - stop win rate at 36 % among defensive ends with at least 400 - NFL - regular - season - snaps.

Anderson finished the football season with 7 - sacks, 10 - tackles for loss, and 22 - QB hits even while suffering an ankle injury that made him miss 2 - NFL games.

• Anderson Jr.’s Football Career Achievements, Honors, & Awards

• NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award Winner (2023)
• NFL Pro Bowl Selection (2023)
• PFWA All - Rookie Team Selection (2023)
• CFP National Champion (2020)
• Lombardi Award Winner (2022)
• 2× Bronko Nagurski Trophy Award Winner (2021, 2022)
• Chuck Bednarik Award Winner (2022)
• Lott Trophy Award Winner (2022)
• 2 - Time SEC Defensive Player of the Year Award Winner (2021, 2022)
• 2 - Time Unanimous All - American Selection (2021, 2022)
• 2 - Time First - Team All - SEC Selection (2021, 2022)
• Second - Team All - SEC Selection (2020)

Coach of the Year

Kevin Stefanski - Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns have made the NFL playoffs only 3 - times since returning to the National Football League back in 1999. 2 of those times came with Stefanski as their head coach, and in both (including 2020) he was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year.

Kevin led the Cleveland Browns through an unsettling 2023 - 2024 NFL regular season to an 11 and 6 overall regular - season record. The Cleveland Browns also had to endure season - ending injuries to multiple core players that included quarterback Deshaun Watson (shoulder injury) and running back Nick Chubb (knee injury). They had to make due with 4 – different starting quarterbacks as well this past season.

"That starts with Kevin," the Cleveland Browns general manager Berry goes on to say. "The way that he was able to lead and manage through challenges in adversity this year was absolutely phenomenal. ... I know that our organization is in really good hands both now and for the foreseeable future with him."

Comeback Player of the Year

Joe Flacco - QB - Cleveland Browns

“Senor Joe” remained unsigned during the last NFL offseason, the preseason, as well as half of the 2023 - 2024 NFL regular season, but the 39 - year - old former Super Bowl MVP finally found his opportunity to get back into the league after a season - ending shoulder injury to the Cleveland Browns starting QB, Watson.

Flacco signed with the Cleveland Browns back on November 20th, 2023, and just 2 - weeks later, he got his 1st - NFL start with the Cleveland Browns as he became the 1st - quarterback in NFL history to throw for more than 250 - yards and multiple touchdowns in his initial 5 - games with a new team. Over those 5 - starts, Joe also led the National Football League with 1,616 - passing yards.

With Joe Flacco under center, the Cleveland Browns won 4 - games consecutively in order to clinch their 1st NFL playoff appearance since back in 2020.

"I was so fortunate to become part of this team," Joe Flacco remarked following the Cleveland Browns 45 to 14 tough loss to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round of the 2023 - 2024 NFL playoffs. "To be given a chance to do this with those guys, I'm super grateful for it."

Flacco’s Football Career Achievements, Honors, & Awards

• Super Bowl Champion (XLVII)
• Super Bowl MVP Award Winner (XLVII)
• NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award Winner (2023)
• ECAC Player of the Year Award Winner (2007)
• First - Team All - CAA Selection (2007)
• CAA Co - Offensive Player of the Year Award Winner (2007)
• Third - Team All - American Selection (2007)

Flacco’s NFL Records

• Passing Touchdowns in a Single Postseason with 11 (2012) (tied)

Sources:

“2024 NFL Honors: Who won the league's biggest awards?”, espn.com, February 8, 2024.

“Lamar Jackson”, pro-football-reference.com, February 10, 2024.

“Christian McCaffrey”, pro-football-reference.com, February 10, 2024.

“Myles Garrett”, pro-football-reference.com, February 10, 2024.

“C. J. Stroud”, pro-football-reference.com, February 10, 2024.

“Will Anderson Jr.”,, pro-football-reference.com, February 10, 2024.

“Joe Flacco”., pro-football-reference.com, February 10, 2024.