Amidst the New England Patriots preparation for the AFC Championship game, the NFL announced the finalists for the end of season Associated Press awards, including MVP and Coach of the Year. Five members of the Patriots organization have been named finalists for an award.
Quarterback Drake Maye leads the way with two nominations; first and foremost, he is a finalist for NFL MVP, along with the Rams’ Matthew Stafford, the Bills‘ Josh Allen, the 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey, and the Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence. As the case has been since about week 12, it’s effectively a two-horse race between Maye and Stafford.
Maye was also nominated for NFL Offensive Player of the Year, the only quarterback on the short list. Making up the rest of the list is McCaffrey, Bijan Robinson, Puka Nacua, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Maye has a great case for MVP: he led the league in completion percentage, passer rating, and QBR and was in the top five in passing yards and touchdowns. Combine those stats with the fact that the Pats won their division and Stafford’s Rams didn’t, and the case for MVP for Maye is incredibly strong.
Diggs and Henderson Nominated for AP Awards
Two newcomers in New England also found themselves on the short list for awards in veteran WR Stefon Diggs and rookie RB TreVeyon Henderson. Diggs was nominated for Comeback Player of the Year while Henderson was nominated for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Diggs is up against McCaffrey, Lawrence, the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, and the Lions‘ Aidan Hutchinson. All missed most of the 2024 season with injuries and came back to have strong 2025 campaigns. None of the candidates are necessarily runaway favorites, though many believe Prescott’s inspired season warrants his case as the favorite.
Henderson’s competition for OROY consists of the Buccaneers’ Emeka Egbuka, the Saints’ Tyler Shough, the Panthers‘ Tet McMillan, and the Giants’ Jaxson Dart. Egbuka had the clearest path to the award around the middle of the season, but a slow second half made his chances take a dive.
Henderson, Shough, and McMillan all exploded in the second half of the season; one of those three will likely win the award.
Vrabel and McDaniels Nominated For AP Awards
The two guys not named Drake Maye that have had the biggest impact on the Patriots turnaround this season both stand on the sideline on gameday. Head coach Mike Vrabel has been nominated for Coach of the Year, while Josh McDaniels has been nominated for Assistant Coach of the Year.
Vrabel’s implementation of his system and his ideology of team culture have been indisputably massive for New England this season. He’s up against two other coaches who had great seasons with their new teams in Liam Coen and Ben Johnson, the Seahawks‘ Mike Macdonald, and the Niners’ Kyle Shanahan.
McDaniels’ impact on Drake Maye is a little bit of a chicken and the egg scenario: is Maye playing better because McDaniels transformed him, or is Maye’s sophomore season leap just making McDaniels look a lot better than he really is?
The true answer might not really matter, because no matter how you slice it, the combination of the two has turned New England’s offense from a turnover filled slop fest to a well-oiled machine bound for the AFC Championship.
McDaniels’ opponents are Brian Flores, Klint Kubiak, Vance Joseph, and Vic Fangio.
The awards will be announced on Thursday, February 5, three days before the Super Bowl.
Five Patriots Players and Coaches Nominated For End of Season Awards