Ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl 59 curtain call, the NFL put a bow on the 2024 season by handing out its most prestigious individual awards.

Thursday’s NFL Honors in New Orleans recognized the top performers from the past campaign, from Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year to Most Valuable Player, with the highest on-field honor delivering the most drama. The Pro Football Hall of Fame also unveiled its smallest class in 20 years, with Eli Manning being among the notable names who were omitted.

Here’s a full rundown of all the major award winners as well as how the voting panned out.

NFL MVP: Bills QB Josh Allen

Josh Allen won the playoff battle against Lamar Jackson. Now, the Buffalo Bills quarterback has bested his counterpart on the Baltimore Ravens on another front.

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On Thursday at NFL Honors in New Orleans, Allen was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player for the 2024 season.

Allen won the award for the first time in his career after finishing second to Aaron Rodgers in 2020 as well as third in 2022 and fifth in 2023. He becomes the Bills’ third winner following O.J. Simpson in 1973 and Thurman Thomas in 1991.

Allen is also the first player since Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway in 1987 to be chosen as the outright MVP despite not being named a first-team All-Pro. Jackson beat him out for that honor, with Allen taking the second-team slot.

NFL MVP voting

Walter Payton Man of the Year: Jaguars DE Arik Armstead

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Arik Armstead has been selected as the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award for 2024.

Armstead established the Armstead Academic Project in 2019 to provide young students ‘with positive spaces, tools, and academic support to unlock their potential and achieve their goals.’

Armstead has been active in the Jacksonville community after signing with the team in March as well as in San Francisco and his hometown of Sacramento throughout his career.

A five-time Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee, Armstead becomes the second Jaguars player in the last six years to win the award after Calais Campbell took it home in the 2019 season.

“Arik’s leadership, dedication to his team, and commitment to his community truly embody Walter Payton’s enduring legacy of excellence on the field and compassion off it,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “Since joining the league 10 years ago, Arik has made it his mission to empower youth by providing them with the resources and support they need to thrive. We are extremely proud to name Arik Armstead as our 2024 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year.’

NFL Coach of the Year: Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell

Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell is being honored after navigating a year of substantial change.

In his third year at the helm, O’Connell led the Vikings to their second-most wins (14) in franchise history despite subbing in quarterback Sam Darnold for Kirk Cousins, who left in free agency. Darnold threw for a career-high 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns for a team that came within one game of securing the NFC’s top playoff seed.

O’Connell beat out the Detroit Lions’ Dan Campbell, Denver Broncos’ Sean Payton Washington Commanders Dan Quinn and Kansas City Chiefs’ Andy Reid.

NFL Coach of the Year voting

Kevin O’Connell: 25 first-place votes

Dan Campbell: 19

Andy Reid: 4

Sean Payton: 1

Dan Quinn: 1

Pro Football Hall of Fame 2025 class

Eric Allen
Jared Allen
Antonio Gates
Sterling Sharpe

That means no Eli Manning for the smallest class since 2005. Among the other notable snubs were Terrell Suggs, Luke Kuechly, Adam Vinatieri and Marshal Yanda, as well as coaching finalist Mike Holmgren.

NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year: Rams OLB Jared Verse

Jared Verse began his NFL career as the fourth defensive player taken in the 2024 NFL draft, but he’s ending it by finishing first in another measure.

The Los Angeles Rams outside linebacker was named the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year. 

Verse, the No. 19 overall pick out of Florida State, stepped in to help fill the massive void left in the Rams’ pass rush by Aaron Donald’s retirement. He recorded 66 tackles with 4 ½ sacks and led all rookies with 18 quarterback hits and 77 pressures. He came on strong in the playoffs, returning a fumble 57 yards for a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings and notching two sacks against the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round.

Verse beat out Eagles cornerbacks Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell, Miami Dolphins edge rusher Chop Robinson and Rams teammate Braden Fiske for the honor. 

NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting

NFL Comeback Player of the Year: Bengals QB Joe Burrow

Joe Burrow will leave NFL Honors with one piece of hardware.

The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback, who was also a finalist for MVP and Offensive Player of the Year, won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award.

Burrow led the NFL in passing yards (4,918) and touchdowns (43) after tearing a ligament in his wrist in 2023, forcing him to miss the final seven games of the season. Having also won the award in 2021 after returning from a torn ACL that cut short his rookie season, he becomes just the second two-time winner after Chad Pennington, who claimed it with the New York Jets in 2006 and Miami Dolphins in 2008.

The other finalists for the award were Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins, New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez and Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin.

‘I don’t think anybody was playing any better than I was this year,’ Burrow said. ‘I doubt I win the award, but I think I was playing my best ball.’

NFL Comeback Player of the Year voting

NFL Offensive Player of the Year: Eagles RB Saquon Barkley

Before he makes his push for the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday, Saquon Barkley claimed another piece of hardware.

After signing a three-year contract with the Eagles in March, Barkley took over as offensive engine for the eventual NFC champions. With 2,005 yards on the year, he came within striking distance of Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards, but Eagles coach Nick Sirianni sat him for the Week 18 matchup given that Philadelphia was locked into the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.

Barkley can make more history on Sunday, as he is just 30 yards away from breaking Terrell Davis’ record for rushing yards in a single season including the playoffs (2,476) after racking up 442 yards in his first three postseason games. 

NFL Offensive Player of the Year voting

Saquon Barkley: 35 first-place votes

Lamar Jackson: 12

Derrick Henry: 1

Joe Burrow: 1

Josh Allen: 1

NFL Defensive Player of the Year: Broncos CB Pat Surtain II

Pat Surtain II is adding an honor few of his positional peers throughout recent NFL history can claim.

The Denver Broncos cornerback was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year for 2024. Surtain becomes just the third cornerback since 1995 to win the award, following Charles Woodson in 2009 and Stephon Gilmore in 2019. 

The other finalists were Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt, Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun, Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett and Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson.

Surtain was a key piece of the Broncos’ defensive surge, which helped Denver break an eight-year playoff drought that ranked as the league’s second longest active absence from the postseason. He recorded four interceptions and 11 passes defensed while providing a lockdown presence on the back end of the unit.

‘This is a surreal feeling, honestly,’ Surtain said after accepting the award. ‘This is something that I worked for this offseason and I manifested it. To see it happen is a dream come true, honestly. I’m very grateful and blessed. It’s all technique and film study and all being the best version of myself.’

NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year: Commanders QB Jayden Daniels

The NFL’s most obvious award choice is now official. 

Daniels narrowly missed out on a unanimous win, with Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers claiming one of the 50 votes.

The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner and No. 2 pick in last year’s draft was the catalyst of a remarkable turnaround for Washington, which went from 4-13 last year to 12-5 in Daniels and coach Dan Quinn’s first season. While Daniels won the award for his regular-season accomplishments, he continued to make his mark in the postseason, helping the Commanders win their first playoff game in 19 years with a close call against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He then engineered an upset of the top-seeded Detroit Lions to push the team to its first NFC title game in 33 years.

Daniels’ 14 games won including the postseason tied Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers, 2004) for the most by a rookie, and he became just the fourth first-year quarterback to win multiple playoff games. 

Along the way, Daniels set the marks for highest completion rate by a qualified rookie quarterback (69%) and rushing yards in a season by a first-year passer (891). His 100.1 passer rating also stands as the fourth-highest mark for a player in his opening campaign. 

‘It means a lot,’ Daniels said after winning the award. ‘Everybody was deserving finalists for Offensive Rookie of the Year. It’s a blessing and an honor. It’s nothing but hard work and preparation. When you lock in for one year, your life can change.’

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year voting

Jayden Daniels: 49 first-place votes

Brock Bowers: 1

What time is NFL Honors?

NFL Honors will be held at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, Feb. 6.

How can I watch NFL Honors? TV info, channel

NFL Honors will be broadcast live on FOX and NFL Network, and it also will be available to stream on NFL+ and Fubo.

Who is hosting NFL Honors?

Snoop Dogg will host the awards ceremony.

NFL MVP finalists

Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
Jared Goff, QB, Detroit Lions
Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens

NFL Offensive Player of the Year finalists

Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
Ja’Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
Derrick Henry, RB, Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens

NFL Defensive Player of the Year finalists

Zack Baun, LB, Philadelphia Eagles
Myles Garrett, DE, Cleveland Browns
Trey Hendrickson, DE, Cincinnati Bengals
Patrick Surtain II, CB, Denver Broncos
T.J. Watt, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year finalists

Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas Raiders
Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders
Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants
Bo Nix, QB, Denver Broncos
Brian Thomas Jr., WR, Jacksonville Jaguars

NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year finalists

Cooper DeJean, CB, Philadelphia Eagles
Braden Fiske, DE, Los Angeles Rams
Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Philadelphia Eagles
Chop Robinson, LB, Miami Dolphins
Jared Verse, LB, Los Angeles Rams

NFL Comeback Player of the Year finalists

Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
Sam Darnold, QB, Minnesota Vikings
J.K. Dobbins, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
Christian Gonzalez, CB, New England Patriots
Damar Hamlin, S, Buffalo Bills

NFL Coach of the Year finalists

Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions
Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings
Sean Payton, Denver Broncos
Dan Quinn, Washington Commanders
Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs

NFL Assistant Coach of the Year finalists

Joe Brady, offensive coordinator, Buffalo Bills
Vic Fangio, defensive coordinator, Philadelphia Eagles
Brian Flores, defensive coordinator, Minnesota Vikings
Aaron Glenn, defensive coordinator, Detroit Lions
Ben Johnson, offensive coordinator, Detroit Lions

Which awards will be handed out at NFL Honors?

AP Most Valuable Player
AP Coach of the Year
AP Comeback Player of the Year
AP Offensive Player of the Year
AP Defensive Player of the Year
AP Offensive Rookie of the Year
AP Defensive Rookie of the Year
Next Gen Stats Moment of the Year
Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year
NFL Inspire Change Tribute
Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024
FedEx Air & Ground Players of the Year
Salute to Service Award
NFL Latino Youth Honors
Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award
Deacon Jones Sack Leader Award
AP Assistant Coach of the Year
NFL Fan of the Year
NFL FLAG Players of the Year award

The Minnesota Vikings’ end to a thrilling season didn’t pan out the way Kevin O’Connell had hoped, but the team’s performance throughout the regular season still earned him the league’s top coaching honor.

O’Connell was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year on Thursday at NFL Honors. He beat out rival Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions as well as three other finalists in the Washington Commanders’ Dan Quinn, Kansas City Chiefs’ Andy Reid and Denver Broncos’ Sean Payton. O’Connell received 25 first-place votes to Campbell’s 19, while Reid had four and Payton and Quinn each had one.

The Vikings finished the season 14-3, making O’Connell the first coach in franchise history to compile multiple campaigns with at least 13 wins after he went 13-4 in his 2022 debut. Minnesota was in contention for the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC before falling to the Lions in Week 18. They then lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round to end their season.

After first-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy was lost to a season-ending knee injury in preseason, Sam Darnold seized the starting role and enjoyed a career year, earning a Pro Bowl berth after throwing for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns with 12 interceptions.

‘I put a lot of thought into this season with this team. I thought it had a chance to be a special team,’ O’Connell said. ‘I didn’t as much talk about preseason kind of predictions and how I use that to motivate the team. It really wasn’t about that. It was more about my just belief in our organization, in my belief in our coaches and our players to come together and just try to win one football game, and that was in the opener. Then it was about trying to win the next one.

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‘I think it’s a great example of you need people and you need things to be able to come together and find a way to try to have unique results. It didn’t end the way we want. Back to work we go. But I’m very proud of the team this year and what they were able to accomplish.”

After the season, the Vikings announced they had reached a contract extension with O’Connell.

‘Kevin is exactly who we believed him to be when we named him as our head coach – an innovative play caller, an excellent communicator and a strong leader who motivates and connects with his players,’ Vikings owner and president Mark Wilf said. ‘He has helped establish a culture that positions us for sustained success, and he will continue to set the standard we need as we pursue a championship for Vikings fans.’

This story has been updated with new information.

The NFL Defensive Player of the Year award has largely been the domain of the league’s top pass rushers in recent years. The 2024 season, however, featured a breakthrough performance.

Surtain proved instrumental in ending the Broncos’ eight-year playoff drought, giving Denver’s seventh-ranked defense a lockdown presence on the back end. An All-Pro selection for the second time and Pro Bowl choice for the third time in his four-year career, he recorded four interceptions and 11 passes defensed.

Despite often shadowing top receivers, Surtain was targeted on just 10.9% of his snaps, the lowest rate since 2021 among cornerbacks with at least 300 coverage snaps, according to Next Gen Stats. His 306 yards allowed represented the lowest total by any NFL cornerback with 375 or more coverage snaps this season, per Next Gen Stats.

‘It would be a huge honor,’ Surtain said in January about the possibility of winning Defensive Player of the Year. ‘It’s something that I worked for, it’s an award that I dreamed of all my life. To go at the top of the professional level and win such a prestigious award, it would mean a lot.

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‘But … I think a lot of credit goes into the play of the team’s success as well, and what we were able to do defensively as a unit, establish ourselves in this league and become one of the premier defenses in this league. And my success doesn’t start without our defense’s success.’

Surtain is only the second Broncos player to win the award after Randy Gradishar claimed it in 1978.

NEW ORLEANS – Saquon Barkley won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2018 as a member of the New York Giants. He now has another prestigious award to add to his trophy case.

The Philadelphia Eagles running back was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year at NFL Honors on Thursday.

Barkley has had an exceptional 2024 campaign in his first year in Philadelphia. He won the NFL’s rushing title, running for a career-high 2,005 yards along with 13 rushing touchdowns. His yardage output set a franchise record and stands as the eighth most ever in a single season. With the Eagles having clinched the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs by Week 18, Barkley was held out of the regular-season finale, ending his shot at breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record.

“Saquon is a heck of a player. He’s been paired with a great group in front of him. And I think that’s showing,” Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said of Barkley this season. “He’s been able to take us to the next level in many ways, take our running game to the next level in many ways. And he’s been able to do really big, big things.”

Barkley helped the Eagles rush for a franchise record 3,048 yards. Philadelphia had the second-ranked rushing offense in the NFL this year.

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The running back totaled an NFL-best 2,283 yards from scrimmage and entered the end zone 15 times in he 2024 regular season.

Additionally, Barkley has amassed 2,447 rushing yards through the Eagles’ run to Super Bowl 59. He’s 30 yards shy from eclipsing Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis’ record (2,476) for most rushing yards in a season, including the postseason, in NFL history.

Barkley’s regular-season performance earned him first-team All-Pro honors and his third career Pro Bowl, and now the running back is the Offensive Player of the Year.

“It’s a luxury to have him, that’s for darn sure. Love him,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said of Barkley last month. “I can’t say enough good things about him and the leadership he brings to this football team and the – just everything he brings to this football team. He’s special.”

For the second time in his NFL career, Joe Burrow has capped his return from a season-ending injury by claiming one of the league’s top honors.

The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award on Thursday at NFL Honors. He is only the second player to ever win the award twice after Chad Pennington did so with the New York Jets in 2006 and Miami Dolphins in 2008.

Burrow beat out Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold as well as Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins, New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez and Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin.

Burrow led the NFL in passing yards (4,918) and passing touchdowns (43) this season after missing the final seven games of the 2023 campaign with a torn ligament in his wrist. He became the third quarterback to have at least 4,500 passing yards, 40 passing touchdowns and fewer than 10 interceptions, joining Tom Brady in 2007 and Aaron Rodgers in 2011.

Despite mounting a late push for the playoffs by ending the season on a five-game win streak, Cincinnati fell short of the postseason for the second consecutive year when it didn’t land the help it needed from other teams to clinch a wild-card berth.

All things Bengals: Latest Cincinnati Bengals news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

He was also a finalist for the NFL’s Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year, with Bengals teammate Ja’Marr Chase joining him in the latter category.

Burrow also won the award in 2021 after his rookie season was cut short by a knee injury that included multiple torn ligaments.

Burrow, who was also a finalist for MVP and Offensive Player of the Year, told USA TODAY Sports earlier Thursday he believes he has a good of a case as anyone for the former award.

‘I don’t think anybody was playing any better than I was this year,’ Burrow said. ‘I doubt I win the award, but I think I was playing my best ball.’

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Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes appeared to set the record straight Thursday about his relationship with Sen. Tommy Tuberville.

Or lack thereof.

This has become a growing issue this week as Mahomes prepares for his third straight Super Bowl on Sunday in New Orleans.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump praised Tuberville, his Republican ally, as a “great coach.’ Then Trump related a story that made it sound like Tuberville was Mahomes’ coach in college, at Texas Tech, despite the fact Tuberville wasn’t.

Tuberville twice this week also claimed to have recruited Mahomes to Texas Tech, even if he never coached him. He even said he got to be “very good friends with him.” But Mahomes said Thursday he doesn’t even remember meeting Tuberville.

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“He did not recruit me at the time,” Mahomes said after being asked about it in a news conference. “So, I don’t remember if I ever got to meet him or not.”

This is not the first time Tommy Tuberville has claimed this

Is Tuberville making this up or mixed up? Why would he lie if he knew Mahomes might dispute him? Or could it be that Mahomes doesn’t remember some brief encounter with Tuberville that could be described as ‘recruiting’ him more than 12 years ago?

This is not a new controversy, either. Two years ago, Tuberville claimed in an interview that he recruited Mahomes at Tech. This claim was disputed then, too, by the Cover 3 college football podcast, which broke down why it appeared to be “B.S.”

What exactly happened with Tommy Tuberville and Patrick Mahomes?

Tuberville left his job at Texas Tech in December 2012, nearly two years before Mahomes played his first season there in 2014.

Trump still told the following story Wednesday, with Tuberville looking on, at a signing ceremony for an executive order banning transgender student-athletes from women’s sports. Tuberville had supported this ban.

“You know, his quarterback was named Mahomes,” Trump said of Tuberville. “He was a great college coach. And I said, ‘How good was he?’ He said, ‘You don’t wanna know how good. He made me into a great coach.’ He’s a pretty good quarterback, right?”

“Very good,” Tuberville replied.

“Yeah, he was very good,” Trump said. “And he’s a good guy, too.’

On Thursday, Tuberville posted a message on the social media site X that included a video of his appearance Monday on ‘The Megyn Kelly Show.’ Tuberville appeared to be trying to clarify his relationship with Mahomes after Trump’s remarks on Wednesday. He claimed he recruited Mahomes to Tech.

“As a coach, you start recruiting and working with players years before they get to college,” Tuberville wrote on X Thursday. “Patrick Mahomes was one of the best players I ever had the opportunity to recruit and get to know. Looking forward to cheering him on this weekend when I join President Trump at the Super Bowl.”

‘Very good friends with him’

In a separate video he shared of his interview with Kelly (posted by her show on Monday), Kelly also asked Tuberville if he’s rooting for the Chiefs in the Super Bowl “since you used to coach Patrick Mahomes.”

“Well, I never even coached him,” Tuberville told Kelly. “What happened is I recruited him. And then I left and went to another school. But I’ve got to be very good friends with him. He’s not just a good athlete. He’s a very good example for a lot of our young youth across this country.”

Mahomes refuted this notion Thursday in an interview with reporters, though it’s not clear he’s been following what Tuberville and Trump claimed about him this week. He was simply responding to a question about his relationship with Tuberville.

Tuberville left Texas Tech to become the Cincinnati coach in December 2012. Before Tech, he coached at Auburn in Alabama, where voters elected him to the U.S. Senate in 2020. Meanwhile, Kliff Kingsbury recruited and coached Mahomes at Texas Tech before he parted ways with the program after the 2018 season and moved on to a coaching career in the NFL.

A representative for Tuberville didn’t return a message seeking comment.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

The idea that a rookie quarterback could be the savior of a NFL franchise is a trope that often lacks examples grounded in reality. Turnarounds require much more than one, first-year player – even if he plays the most important position in sports – and that was certainly the case for the 2024 Washington Commanders.  

Jayden Daniels is why teams and their decision-makers across the NFL will keep believing they’re one young signal-caller away from relevance and success. If those future quarterbacks can even sniff what Daniels did last season, they’ll be proven right. But what Daniels did for Washington and its starved fan base was one for the record books. 

On Thursday, Daniels was named the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, an award for which he had the inside track throughout most – if not all – of the 2024 campaign.

“In my opinion, he’s had the best rookie year of all time,” said Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, who authored one of the best rookie seasons from a quarterback one year prior. 

There must be something about second overall picks raising the bar. 

All things Commanders: Latest Washington Commanders news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Washington general manager Adam Peters, brought in by the new ownership group led by Josh Harris, hired Dan Quinn as the team’s head coach. The newly established brain trust selected Daniels, the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, with the No. 2 overall pick they owned – setting up a season of comparisons to Robert Griffin III’s 2012 campaign, in which he was also named Offensive Rookie of the Year. 

In Year 1, Daniels threw 25 touchdown passes (with nine interceptions) and 3,568 yards. He was electric with his feet and rushed 148 times for 891 yards – a rookie QB record and six touchdowns. 

His signature moment was a Hail Mary with zeroes on the clock to beat the Chicago Bears in Week 8. But he truly announced his arrival with a Week 3 touchdown on the national stage of “Monday Night Football” late in the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals. He was the NFC Offensive Rookie of the Month for September, a grand introduction. 

Those clutch moments became a theme of his rookie year. Twelve of his touchdown passes were in the fourth quarter or overtime, the most by a rookie in NFL history. He had five touchdown passes in the final 30 seconds of regulation or overtime – two more than any quarterback, rookie or veteran, in any season since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

“He’s a unique talent,” Commanders wide receiver Jamison Crowder told USA TODAY Sports. “Real poised. Real calm, in any situation.

“It’s definitely been fun, exciting, watching him play.” 

Immediately, Daniels made an impression on his teammates. Veterans Zach Ertz, Marcus Mariota (his backup and also a former No. 2 pick who won the Heisman) and Bobby Wagner gravitated toward him. He regularly arrived at the team facility in Ashburn, Virginia, before 6 a.m. to conduct walk-throughs. 

“I think it’s just a snowball effect of how he goes about his business,” fellow rookie Ben Sinnott, a tight end, told USA TODAY Sports. “You hear all the guys talk about it. And it’s true. He’s just got that ‘it factor’ about him. Super chill, super calm, and just keeps a level head. The way he goes about his business is super-impressive, in here putting in the work, grinding every single day. The people around him see it and gravitate towards that. It’s really easy to see that, and obviously it’s shown over the course of the season.” 

Daniels suffered a rib injury Week 7 against the Carolina Panthers that cost him basically the entire game. The so-called “rookie wall” appeared to hit Daniels and the Commanders, as they lost three in a row in November. But Daniels was saving his best for the stretch run, as the Commanders won five straight games to end the regular season at 12-5 and clinch the sixth seed in the NFC. He became the first rookie to throw for five touchdowns and rush for more than 50 yards in a game, a Week 16 fourth-quarter comeback victory against the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was asked whether Daniels was the best rookie quarterback he’d ever faced. Fangio, 66, has coached in the NFL every season but two since 1986. 

“You know, probably, yeah,” he said. “He’s a young quarterback by birth certificate, not by the tape.” 

Daniels’ next act was leading a game-winning drive in overtime against the Atlanta Falcons to secure the franchise’s first playoff berth since the 2020 season. Washington went on the road to upset the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – with Daniels leading a game-winning field-goal drive – in the wild-card round then knocked off the top-seeded Detroit Lions six days later, with the offense scoring 38 points to lead the way to the franchise’s first NFC title game in 33 years.

Of the six rookie quarterbacks who have led their team to the conference championship game, Daniels is the only one who did not have a top-three scoring defense to complement him (Washington was 18th). 

Along the way, Daniels flashed his pearly smile after taking big hits and never looked daunted. He hardly celebrated the Commanders’ game-winning field goal in Tampa Bay during the playoffs. 

“He is an elite competitor. He really is,” head coach Dan Quinn said during the postseason. “It’s one of the things I admire most about him, that he just doesn’t back down from the moments. I’d like to see less smiling in that instance and more in some of the others.

“On the sideline, he is ‘The Terminator.’ There’s not a lot of stuff that’s going to go on externally. He can really stay in it.”

And everyone around Washington wanted him to stay that way for a long time.

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NEW ORLEANS – The Rams went seven years without a first-round pick. The franchise ended their drought in 2024 when they drafted outside linebacker Jared Verse. It turns out Verse was worth the wait.

Verse was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year at the NFL Honors on Thursday. He’s the first Rams player to be named Defensive Rookie of the Year since defensive tackle Aaron Donald, now retired, won the award in 2014.

The No. 19 overall pick out of Florida State was instrumental in the Rams’ season as the franchise won the NFC West title and advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs.

Verse led all rookies in quarterback hits (18), pressures (77) and hurries (56). He also compiled 66 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 4½ sacks and two forced fumbles. He played in all 17 regular-season games, which included 16 starts.

In a 27-9 win over the Minnesota Vikings in the wild card-round of the playoffs, Verse scooped up a fumble and returned it for a 57-yard touchdown. His divisional-round performance was even better. The edge rusher registered four tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss and two QB hits. He became the first rookie with at least two sacks in a playoff game since Nick Bosa in the 2018 postseason.

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“He’s a stud,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said this season. “He’s a man. We’re proud of him and he’s doing a great job.”

Verse was selected to the Pro Bowl in his inaugural season.

“He has the respect of his peers and coaches and it’s just good to see. We know in this building how much he impacts the game,” Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula said in January. “He’s a true three-down player and he has continued to get better and better playing within the scheme of the defense.”

It’s a brave new world – again – for the NBA All-Star Game.

In December, the league announced the format for the game would change – insert Kevin Durant eyeroll – and feature a three-game format with four teams, each selected by a general manager. There will be two semifinals and a final, all played on Feb. 16.

Three of the general managers – Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith – made their draft picks Thursday night during TNT’s pregame telecast. Candace Parker will make her selections from the Rising Stars final game, scheduled for Feb. 14. Each team is made up of eight players, but no team could have more than five All-Stars who had been named starters.

O’Neal got the first pick to kick off the snake draft, with Ernie Johnson leading the festivities and inserting barbs when appropriate – which was often.

The NBA All-Star Game teams, with players in order of selection:

(* denotes starter)

Team Chuck

Nikola Jokic*
Giannis Antetokounmpo*
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander*
Victor Wembanyama
Pascal Siakam
Alperen Sengun
Karl-Anthony Towns*
Donovan Mitchell*

Team Kenny

Anthony Edwards
Jalen Brunson*
Jaren Jackson Jr.
Jalen Williams
Darius Garland
Evan Mobley
Cade Cunningham
Tyler Herro

Team Shaq

LeBron James*
Stephen Curry*
Anthony Davis
Jayson Tatum*
Kevin Durant*
Damian Lillard
James Harden
Jaylen Brown

Team Candace

The Rising Stars final game will provide the players for Team Candace. Parker will draft after the final, scheduled for Feb. 14.

All-Star Game format

To generate a more competitive game, this season’s All-Star Game will feature a mini-tournament with four teams in a three-game event.

Two teams will play in one semifinal and the other two teams will play in the other semifinal with the winners meeting in the final. The first team to reach 40 points in each game is the winner.

Each team will have eight players – three teams will be made up of the 24 NBA All-Stars and the other team will be players from the championship game of the Rising Stars game.

The coaches for each team at the All-Star Game will come from the coaching staffs with the best record in each conference in games played through Feb. 2. The head coach from the East (Cleveland’s Kenny Atkinson) and the head coach from the West (Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault) will each lead one of the NBA All-Star teams, an assistant coach from one team will coach the other NBA All-Star team and another assistant will coach the Rising Stars team.

NBA All-Star Game prize money

Each player on winning team: $125,000
Each player on second-place team: $50,000
Each player on third- and fourth-place teams: $25,000

When is the All-Star Game?

The NBA All-Star Game is Feb. 16.

Where is the NBA All-Star Game?

The NBA All-Star Game will be played at San Francisco’s Chase Center.

What time is the NBA All-Star Game?

The first semifinal is scheduled for 8:20 p.m. ET on Feb. 16 and will be shown on TNT. The second semifinal will follow, with the winners meeting in the final.

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