Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen were named finalists for the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award, the league announced Wednesday.

Mahomes, the 2018 NFL MVP, threw for 5,250 yards and 41 touchdowns and added  358 rushing yards. He set an NFL record with 5,614 yards of total offense, leading the Chiefs to another AFC West title and the conference’s best record.

In his third season, Hurts solidified his status as a franchise quarterback, completing 67 percent of his passes for 3,701 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions, adding 760 rushing yards and 13 scores. The Eagles finished with the NFC’s best record, despite Hurts missing two games with an injured shoulder. 

Jefferson, a first-team All-Pro selection, led the league in targets (184), catches (128), and receiving yards per game (106.4). His 1,809 receiving yards also led the league and scored eight touchdowns for the Vikings. No receiver has ever won the NFL MVP.

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Here are the finalists for the other awards:

Offensive Rookie of the Year

Brock Purdy, quarterback, San Francisco

Kenneth Walker, III, running back, Seattle

Garrett Wilson, wide receiver, New York Jets

Defensive Rookie of the Year

Aiden Hutchison, defensive end, Detroit

Ahmad Gardner, cornerback, New York Jets

Tariq Woolen, cornerback, Seattle

Coach of the Year

Brian Daboll, New York Giants

Sean McDermott, Buffalo

Doug Pederson, Jacksonville

Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco

Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia

Assistant Coach of the Year

Ben Johnson, offensive coordinator, Detroit

DeMeco Ryans, defensive coordinator, San Francisco

Shane Steichen, offensive coordinator Philadelphia

Offensive Player of the Year

Tyreek Hill, wide receiver, Miami

Jalen Hurts, quarterback. Philadelphia

Justin Jefferson, wide receiver Minnesota

Patrick Mahomes, quarterback, Kansas City

Defensive Player of the Year

Nick Bosa, defensive end, San Francisco 

Chris Jones, defensive tackle, Kansas City

Micah Parsons, linebacker, Dallas

Comeback Player of the Year

Saquon Barkley, running back, New York Giants

Christian McCaffrey, running back, San Francisco

Geno Smith, quarterback, Seattle

When are the winners announced?

As voted on by 50 sportswriters who regularly cover the league and handed out by The Associated Press, the winners of that award and others will be announced during the NFL Honors telecast set to air on Feb. 9 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock, and NFL Network.

Man of the Year

The NFL Man of the Year award winner will also be announced during the awards ceremony.

The issue of charter flights has risen again in the WNBA, but not for the reason many people might guess. 

On the heels of Brittney Griner’s release from Russia, where the six-time WNBA All-Star was detained for nearly 10 months after being found guilty of carrying hash oil in her luggage, there are concerns about her travel. 

It’s a complicated issue. 

Who’s calling for charters?

Sunday afternoon, seven-year veteran Breanna Stewart, the highest profile free agent this offseason who is reportedly entertaining offers to either stay in Seattle or join the New York Liberty, tweeted, “I would love to be part of a deal that helps subsidize charter travel for the entire WNBA. I would contribute my NIL, posts + production hrs to ensure we all travel in a way that prioritizes player health + safety, which ultimately results in a better product. Who’s with me?” 

Her message drew support from many in the basketball community, including numerous WNBA players who replied with the emoji of a woman raising her hand to imply that they’d chip in, too. Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne responded, “I’m in! Whatever it takes.” 

NBA players even chimed in, with Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, who said, “Count me in.’ 

But WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has shot down the idea, previously telling ESPN, “We’ve asked all the major airlines. We’ve asked charter companies. I’ve been working on this since the moment I came into the league. Without sponsors stepping up, it’s just not in the cards right now. 

“If we could get it sponsored or funded in some way … I’m all ears. I’ve gotten lots of calls over the past year about this since we’ve been back in our 12 markets. Then when people price it out, you never hear from them again.” 

Engelbert has estimated that chartering the entire season for all 12 teams would cost more than $20 million. In previous comments to The New York Times, Engelbert said when negotiating the 2020 CBA, players ‘didn’t ask for first-class or charter travel. They asked for more pay.’ 

But agents take issue with the notion that it’s one or the other.

Jade-Li English of Klutch Sports Group, who represent numerous WNBA players including two-time MVP A’ja Wilson, said for her clients, travel is the No. 1 issue, and needs to be prioritized over everything else, including expansion. 

‘It’s very disappointing to see the league being unwilling to prioritize player health, safety and equity,’ English told USA TODAY Sports via text message. ‘The NBA and the WNBA are globally influential leagues. It’s hard for me to believe they cannot come up with a single solution to meet these players’ needs. To suggest that these women have not made their consensus on this issue known is disingenuous.’ 

Engelbert and the WNBA declined to comment to USA TODAY Sports for this story, though the league is expected to work with Griner and her representatives to ensure she is safe. 

The WNBPA did not answer specific questions about Griner, but told USA TODAY Sports in a statement that the players association is ‘always seeking ways to support the members. Travel is a particular pain point that we look to address every year with creative solutions and resources. We recognize this as a health and safety issue for all of our members.’

How does WNBA travel work now?

Charter flights have been a divisive topic across the league for years. The WNBA, despite being subsidized by the NBA, uses commercial air travel. In the 2020 CBA, the league agreed to upgrade players to Economy Plus or Comfort seats, to ensure extra leg room. Before the 2022 finals, Engelbert announced that the league would charter during the five-game championship series.  

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But there are problems. Last season, the Los Angeles Sparks were stranded in Washington, D.C., after a canceled flight, and forced to sleep in the airport, a fiasco documented by Nneka Ogwumike, the WNBPA president, via her Twitter account. 

During last season’s WNBA quarterfinals, then-Connecticut Sun coach Curt Miller said the team wasn’t able to practice before Game 3 at Dallas because after a canceled commercial flight and last-minute scramble for a charter, the plane could not bear the weight of the Suns’ luggage, including their practice gear.

In 2018, a nightmare travel day for the Las Vegas Aces where they were delayed almost a full 24 hours resulted in a game being canceled against the Washington Mystics. 

In March 2022, Sports Illustrated revealed that New York Liberty owner Joe Tsai was fined a whopping $500,000 when the league discovered he had chartered the second half of the season. Sports Illustrated also reported that at a September 2021 WNBA Board of Governors meeting, the majority of the league voted against chartering full-time. Multiple players voiced their frustration, with Mercury guard Skylar Diggins-Smith calling the news “disgraceful.”

Flying private isn’t new for the Mercury. After Phoenix won Game 5 of the 2021 semifinals over Las Vegas, Diana Taurasi chartered a private plane to get home to Phoenix and her wife, Penny Taylor, so Taurasi could be present for the birth of their second child, a girl named Isla. 

Aces coach Becky Hammon, a longtime NBA assistant, vented about travel during the 2022 All-Star game. 

‘I know we’re locked into the CBA we’re in right now, but we gotta get these girls from A to B in the most efficient way possible, because it directly affects the product on the floor that you’re selling to the public,” Hammon said. 

How will security work for Griner?

The WNBA spent months calling for the Biden Administration to do whatever necessary to free Griner. On Dec. 8, Biden announced that Griner was on her way home to the U.S. after a prisoner swap for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Her homecoming was met with celebration — and vile comments from the far right. 

Critics have said Griner, who has been an outspoken advocate for Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQ community, should not have been traded for a convicted criminal known as the ‘Merchant of Death.’ U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) called the trade ‘weak and disgusting,’ and social media is awash with voices decrying her release. One political analyst called the trade ‘a bad deal for America and the rest of the world.’

High-profile prisoner swaps or releases like Griner’s often involve a member of the military — think former U.S. Senator John McCain, who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for more than five years, or Army soldier Bowe Bergdahl, who was held captive by the Taliban from 2009-2014. Typically, the U.S. government does not provide security for civilians, which means Griner is likely to have to pay for security out of pocket. 

Liz Cathcart, the executive director of Hostage US, a non-profit that helps families of Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained, told USA TODAY Sports that most people who return after being held captive don’t need security. American Trevor Reed, who was released in April after being wrongfully detained since 2019, has not needed private security, and wouldn’t have the option of flying private or retaining private security given the cost. 

Griner’s agent, Lindsay Colas of Wasserman, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

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The Kansas City Chiefs shared some encouraging news on quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ ankle injury Wednesday.

Mahomes, who is dealing with a high ankle sprain on his right foot, will practice on Wednesday, coach Andy Reid said.

It’s unclear to what extent Mahomes will participate in practice. But his return to the practice field is encouraging for the Chiefs ahead of Sunday’s AFC championship game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

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“It’s doing good. I had a few days of treatment and a few days of rehab. I’m excited to go on the practice field and test it out, and see where I’m at. But it’s feeling good so far,” Mahomes said during a press conference before practice.

Mahomes remains day to day with the injury, which he suffered during the first half of the Chiefs’ playoff win against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week.

The Bengals have won three straight games against the Chiefs, including last season’s AFC championship game. 

And Mahomes intends to play in this pivotal game. 

“It’s just about being a competitor. You want to be out there, especially in these games,” Mahomes said. “So, all you can do is just mentally prepare yourself, your body throughout the week, and when you get to game day, you just have to focus on the game. That’s what I’ll try to do, is prepare my body the best I can to get to the game, and I’ll go out there and play, and find a way to win.”

Patrick Mahomes says his ankle is steadily improving 

Since suffering the injury, Mahomes has been in a constant state of treatment, rehabilitation, watching film, and resting. 

“It’s a full day thing, where you’re trying to make sure you’re obviously prepared for the Bengals and a great football team, mentally and physically,” Mahomes said. 

Mahomes’ goal during practice this week is to see the limitations of his injury, and how they will affect him in Sunday’s game.

“I’ll see what I can do to not re-aggravate the injury, obviously, but to push it to see what I’m able to do on Sunday.”

Reid, who said Mahomes was able to participate in the Chiefs’ walkthrough earlier Wednesday, said he may have to restrain Mahomes from doing too much in practice.

“I might have to pull him back a little bit, but knowing him he’ll try to do everything,” Reid said of Mahomes. 

Patrick Mahomes has played through injury before

Mahomes said the most he’s been bothered while playing injured was during the end of the 2021 season, when he was hampered by a toe injury. 

The Chiefs lost the Super Bowl to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers. 

“I had to curl my toes when I walked, so that was probably the toughest injury that I had to play through

. But I’ve dealt with a lot of them,” Mahomes said. 

“And you have to mentally get yourself focused on what you need to be focused on, and that’s the team you’re playing. You prepare your body all week, and when it gets to Sunday, you focus on playing the football game, and that’s what I’m going to try to do this week.”

Mahomes has also dealt with a high ankle sprain before, after the 2019 season opener against the Jaguars. But that injury was to his left foot instead of his right foot. 

Still, the injury gives him some experience to lean on. 

“The last one was the leg that I landed on. So, I had to find ways to throw where I could land and keep it in the right spot. This time I have to find ways to be able to push off and be able to still make the throws the right way,” Mahomes said.  “Different similar in a sense, but I’ll have limitations I’ll have to work through.”

Underdog vs. Bengals, no problem for Patrick Mahomes

The Chiefs have lost their last three games against the Bengals – all by three points. 

But don’t tell Mahomes he’s the underdog against Joe Burrow and the Bengals this week. 

“Every time I walk on that field, I don’t think I’m an underdog – especially when I walk on Aarowhead’s field,” Mahomes said. 

“I just go in with the same mindset of we have to play our best football to win. We know we’re playing a good football team that’s beat us three times in the past. We have to learn from our mistakes from the best in order to win against a good football team.”

The ongoing off-field controversy surrounding Gio Reyna doesn’t seem to be affecting his performance on the field.

Reyna scored a stoppage-time winner for Borussia Dortmund at Mainz on Wednesday — the second straight game he’s come off the bench to score a winning goal.

This one wasn’t quite as spectacular as the stunning half-volley Reyna scored three days prior against Augsburg, but it was just as vital for his side’s Bundesliga title hopes.

With the game tied 1-1 in stoppage time, Sébastien Haller — making just his second appearance after returning from testicular cancer — won a header off a corner kick that found an unmarked Reyna at the back post to steer home.

The 20-year-old has now scored the winner in each of Dortmund’s first two games after the World Cup break, putting his side into fourth place — five points back of table-topping Bayern Munich.

The goals represent some much-needed positive news for Reyna, who has been all over the headlines recently for all the wrong reasons.

His World Cup was blighted by a poor effort in training that nearly saw him sent home, as he played just 52 total minutes over four games in Qatar for the USMNT.

That would’ve been bad enough on its own, but the aftermath of the World Cup has seen the scandal kick into overdrive. USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter publicly revealed he nearly sent Reyna home, causing Reyna’s parents to leak details of a three-decade-old domestic violence incident involving Berhalter and his future wife to U.S. Soccer.

It’s no wonder that after both of his post-World Cup goals, Reyna has celebrated by putting his fingers in his ears. Amid all the turmoil around him, the USMNT forward has managed to block out all the noise on the field.

The Cincinnati Bengals went into their AFC divisional round matchup with the Buffalo Bills thinking that the league saw them as an afterthought. The Bills meeting the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game would have meant a neutral site game in Atlanta, but the Bengals were determined to spoil those plans for the NFL.

The Bengals went into a snowy Highmark Stadium with a kind of confidence that seemed to catch the Bills off guard, controlling the whole game. And nobody seemed to be more confident than quarterback Joe Burrow.

We saw how Burrow responded after the game with a sweet jab at the NFL. It was no different during the game as well.

In the latest edition of ‘Inside the NFL’ from NFL Films, we got to hear how a mic’d-up Burrow pumped up himself as the Bengals pulled away from the Bills. After his second touchdown pass of the game, Burrow went toward the sideline as Mike Hilton greeted him. Burrow shouted back, ‘I’m him!’

Hilton loved that answer. Bengals fans also enjoyed hearing the personality that Burrow brings to the game.

Another battle between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed began to take shape Wednesday.

As one of the most vocal critics of the LIV Golf breakaway league, McIlroy felt mentally drained at the end of last year and decided to put his clubs away for a few weeks.

“It’s been nice,” the top-ranked McIlroy said, “to try to take a little bit of time away, and try to sort of distance myself from the game of golf.”

Now he’s back and appears to be as fiery as ever.

McIlroy was on the driving range Tuesday at the Dubai Desert Classic when he was approached by Reed, one of the high-profile players to have joined the exodus to the Saudi-backed series that changed the face of golf in 2022.

McIlroy said he was busy practicing and didn’t feel the need to acknowledge Reed.

“Patrick came up to say hello and I didn’t really want him to,” McIlroy said Wednesday.

McIlroy was asked about reports the American threw a tee toward him. The four-time major winner said he didn’t see or feel anything.

”But apparently that’s what happened,” McIlroy said. “And if roles were reversed and I’d have thrown that tee at him, I’d be expecting him (to file) a lawsuit.”

McIlroy said he was served a subpoena on Christmas Eve from Larry Klayman, an attorney who has filed a lawsuit against the PGA Tour and European tour for suspending players who have signed with LIV Golf. Reed is not involved in that lawsuit.

Klayman also represents Reed in lawsuits filed against a number of media outlets.

“Of course, trying to have a nice time with my family and someone shows up on your doorstep and delivers that, you’re not going to take that well,” McIlroy said.

It’s clear McIlroy is in no mood for reconciliation in Dubai.

“So again, I’m living in reality, I don’t know where he’s living. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t expect a hello or a handshake.”

Reed, in a statement provided by Klayman, wanted to make clear he had nothing to do with the subpoena McIlroy received.

“So, McIlroy being upset about being served on Christmas Eve has absolutely nothing to do with Patrick Reed,” the statement said. “So we don’t know what world McIlroy is living in, but we live in the real world, and to try to lay blame on Patrick Reed or being upset with Patrick for being subpoenaed for a lawsuit that Patrick Reed is not a part of is simply ignorant.”

Reed said in Dubai it was “unfortunate” that McIlroy didn’t shake his hand.

“But it is one of those things — if you’re going to act like an immature little child then you might as well be treated like one,” Reed was quoted as saying by British newspaper The Daily Mail.

Reed said he “flicked” a tee toward McIlroy because it had a logo of the 4 Aces, his team in LIV Golf, on it.

“It was kind of a funny shot back,” Reed said.

Reed and McIlroy had a memorable singles match in the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine, which Reed won. They also were in the final round at the 2018 Masters, where Reed had a three-shot lead and went on to win. The Masters is the one major McIlroy has not won.

McIlroy was later asked if it would be beneficial to “fix your relationship” with another LIV rebel, Sergio Garcia, if it would help Europe’s cause ahead of this year’s Ryder Cup.

“No,” was the Northern Irishman’s blunt response.

The toll taken on McIlroy for effectively being an anti-LIV spokesman didn’t stop him returning to the top of the world ranking at the end of last year.

His last competitive tournament was the World Tour Championship, which was also in Dubai, in November.

McIlroy said the break gave him the opportunity to “recharge and reset and try to start 2023 with renewed optimism,” and he is back in the Middle East with some unfinished business.

In last year’s Dubai Desert Classic, McIlroy was in a share of the lead after 71 holes but bogeyed the par-5 No. 18 on Sunday after hitting his second shot into the water in front of the green. He finished a shot behind Viktor Hovland and Richard Bland, and Hovland wound up winning a playoff.

“Wasn’t quite the way I wanted to finish it off,” McIlroy said. “But you know, I went on from that week and played really well and had a great year.”

McIlroy is a two-time winner of the event — in 2009, which was his first title as a pro at the age of 19, and in 2015 — and enjoys coming to this part of the world.

“I’ve been coming here for a long time, 17 years,” he said. “I’ve got a level of comfort here. I like starting my year here. I have a lot of friends. I called this place home for four years.”

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