On Thursday night’s NFL Honors telecast, the first two awards were given to the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year.
Who won, and what did they say in their acceptance speeches?
AP Offensive Player Of The Year: Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson was named AP’s Offensive Player of the Year.
Jefferson was one of two non-quarterbacks in the category.
He competed against Super Bowl quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes and Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
Mahomes and Hurts finished in second and third place respectively behind Jefferson.
In his third NFL season, Jefferson had career-high numbers in receptions and yards with 128 catches for 1,809 yards.
He also averaged an impressive 106.4 yards per game as a starter for all 17 games in the 2022 regular season.
Jefferson thanked his family and his teammates for their roles in his success.
AP Defensive Player Of The Year: Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa earned the AP’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
Bosa joins 1990s greats Deion Sanders and Dana Stubblefield as the only 49ers players to ever win the award.
In his fourth NFL season, he had 18.5 sacks and 41 solo tackles.
Upon receiving the award, Bosa admitted he was nervous, but thanked his family and acknowledged there is more to come.
Bosa won in a landslide, receiving 46 out of 50 first-place votes.
In second place was Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys followed by Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs in third place.
Conclusion
The 12th annual NFL Honors show is off to a great start with these two big awards given right out of the gate.
Kelly Clarkson is the first female host of the show, and the native Texan came out wearing a Dallas Cowboys-inspired gown and had plenty of jokes about her team’s shortfall.
More awards are yet to be distributed including Walter Payton Man of the Year and Most Valuable Player.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023 will also be introduced for the first time ever during the telecast.
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