Jackson, McCaffrey and Prescott are finalists for the AP 2023 NFL MVP and offensive player awards

By ROB MAADDI
AP Pro Football Writer

Lamar Jackson, Christian McCaffrey and Dak Prescott are finalists for The Associated Press 2023 NFL Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year awards.

The winners will be announced at NFL Honors on Feb. 8. A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league completed voting before the playoffs began.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen and 49ers QB Brock Purdy also are finalists for MVP. Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill and Cowboys wideout CeeDee Lamb are the other two finalists for Offensive Player of the Year.

Jackson, the 2019 MVP, threw for 3,678 yards and 24 touchdowns and also ran for 821 yards and five scores. He helped the Baltimore Ravens (14-4) finish with the best record in the league and led them to a playoff win over Houston. Jackson received 45 of 50 votes for AP first-team All-Pro.

The Ravens will host the Kansas City Chiefs (13-6) in the AFC championship game on Sunday.

Prescott had 4,516 yards passing, an NFL-best 36 TD passes and a 105.9 passer rating while leading Dallas to an NFC East title. But the Cowboys were eliminated in the wild-card round by Green Bay.

McCaffrey, a unanimous choices for AP All-Pro, led the NFL with 1,459 yards rushing and had 14 rushing TDs for San Francisco. He also had 564 yards receiving for seven scores.

Purdy, McCaffrey and the 49ers (13-5) will host the Detroit Lions (14-5) in the NFC championship game on Sunday.

The Cleveland Browns have finalists in four categories: Myles Garrett for Defensive Player of the Year; Kevin Stefanski for Coach of the Year; Joe Flacco for Comeback Player of the Year; and Jim Schwartz for Assistant Coach of the Year.

The Houston Texans have finalists for Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year. QB C.J. Stroud and edge rusher Will Anderson Jr., selected back-to-back with the second and third picks in the NFL draft, are aiming to make it two straight years the winners are from the same team. New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson and cornerback Sauce Gardner won the awards in 2022.

The Texans routed the Browns in a wild-card playoff before losing at Baltimore in the divisional round.

Cowboys edge Micah Parsons and cornerback DaRon Bland, Raiders edge Maxx Crosby and Steelers edge T.J. Watt join Garrett as finalists for Defensive Player of the Year.

Watt led the NFL with 19 sacks, Crosby had 14 1/2 and Garrett and Parsons each had 14. Bland set an NFL record with five interception returns for a touchdown.

Lions tight end Sam LaPorta and running back Jahmyr Gibbs, Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua and Falcons running back Bijan Robinson are finalists for Offensive Rookie of the Year along with Stroud.

Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter, Rams defensive lineman Kobie Turner, Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon join Anderson as finalists for Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Houston’s DeMeco Ryans, Detroit’s Dan Campbell, San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan and Baltimore’s John Harbaugh are finalists for Coach of the Year along with Stefanski.

Stefanski, the 2020 winner, led the Browns to an 11-6 record despite losing Deshaun Watson and having to use four starting QBs. Ryans took the Texans from the AFC South’s worst to first in his rookie season. Campbell helped Detroit capture its first division title in 30 years. Harbaugh and Shanahan led their teams to No. 1 seeds.

Schwartz guided the NFL’s No. 1 ranked defense in his first season as Cleveland’s defensive coordinator. Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald and offensive coordinator Todd Monken and Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik also are finalists for Assistant Coach of the Year.

Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, Rams QB Matthew Stafford, Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa and Bills safety Damar Hamlin join Flacco as finalists for Comeback Player of the Year.

This was the second year for the AP’s weighted voting system. Voters chose a top five for MVP and top three for all other awards. For MVP, first-place votes were worth 10 points. Second through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.

For all the other awards, first-place votes equaled 5 points, second were 3 and third were 1.

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Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter at https://twitter.com/robmaaddi

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