Super Bowl LIX Week Sidelight: NFL Honors and Hall of Fame Inductees

• Super Bowl LIX week and the NFL Honors go hand-in-hand
• The 2024 awards winners were announced
• The 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class was revealed

During Super Bowl LIX week, the league held its NFL Honors and announced its 2024 award winners including the Most Valuable Player. It also revealed the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. The NFL Honors winners and the Hall of Fame announcement serve as a primer for next year’s potential award winners. In addition, worthy candidates were passed over and will be at the front of the line in 2026.

NFL Honors Winners Came with a Big Surprise

No. This does not refer to Bill Belichick, his young girlfriend, or his pending book on “life lessons” from football. A tell-all would likely be far more interesting.

The awards went true to form except for the biggest individual award: the MVP.

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell won Coach of the Year; Bengals QB Joe Burrow is the Comeback Player of the Year; Eagles running back Saquon Barkley won Offensive Player of the Year; Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II won Defensive Player of the Year; Commanders QB Jayden Daniels is Offensive Rookie of the Year; Rams linebacker Jared Verse is Defensive Player of the Year; and Jaguars defensive end Arik Armstead is the Walter Payton Man of the Year.

Then there’s the MVP. The five finalists were Bills quarterback Josh Allen, Barkley, Burrow, Lions quarterback Jared Goff, and Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.

In something of a shock, Allen won. Most expected Jackson to win his third MVP.

What was the basis for this? By individual player metrics, Jackson wins going away. Jackson threw 41 TD passes against 4 interceptions. He led the league in yards per attempt. Jackson completed more passes in fewer attempts. He threw 13 more TD passes and 2 fewer picks. His ground numbers dwarfed Allen’s. Jackson rushed for 915 yards on 139 carries and scored 4 TDs. Allen ran for 531 yards on 102 carries and scored 12 TDs.

Jackson deserved the award more than Allen did. There’s a case that Barkley deserved it more than Allen did. He ran for 2,005 yards, gained 278 yards through the air, and scored 15 TDs. He was the missing piece for the Eagles.

So, Why Josh Allen?

The Associated Press voting is based on a 10-5-3-2-1 template. Allen got 27 first-place votes for 270 points, and 22 second-place votes for 110 points. That’s 380 points. Very reasonably, someone voted him third. That’s another 2 points. He had 382.

Jackson had 23 first-place votes, 26 second-place votes, and 1 fourth-place vote. That comes to 362. The fourth-place vote, while ludicrous, did not make the difference. If that voter, former NFL QB and current radio host Jim Miller had him third, he would have had one more point and still wouldn’t have won. Though Miller’s vote will be blamed for Jackson coming in second, it’s just not true.

Barkley was not first on anyone’s ballot. He was second on Miller’s ballot and third on 25 ballots. Nineteen voters had him fourth, two had him fifth.

It’s not egregious that Allen won — he’s certainly deserving. But there is a sense of, “Lamar has won it twice already, let’s give someone else a chance.”

This exemplifies the risk of guessing about an award winner since it is not always based on stats or on-field results but on some person’s opinion.

Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductees

The Hall of Fame is even more arguable. This year’s inductees are:

• Sterling Sharpe, Wide Receiver – Packers
• Jared Allen, Defensive End – Chiefs, Vikings, Bears, Panthers
• Eric Allen, Cornerback – Eagles, Saints, Raiders
• Antonio Gates, Tight End – Chargers

Eli Manning, Luke Kuechly, Adam Vinatieri, and Steve Smith Sr. were left out this year, but are at the front of the line for 2026.

Bear Every Factor In Mind For the Super Bowl LIX MVP

As any subjective voting process shows, there is nuance when picking who will win. Past Super Bowl MVPs have been questionable or even outright wrong. When assessing this year’s potential winners, it is important to think about what voters might be looking for and who the preferred choice before the game will be.