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NFL Honors: Josh Allen edges Lamar Jackson for MVP, while Saquon Barkley is OPOY and 4-man Hall of Fame class revealed

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NEW ORLEANS — Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen won NFL MVP on Thursday at the NFL Honors show at Saenger Theatre in one of the closest votes in recent memory, edging out Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Allen received 27 first-place votes and 383 total points, while Jackson had 23 first-place votes and 362 total points — with one voter placing him fourth.

The 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class was also announced, with Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, Packers wide receiver Sterling Sharpe, Chiefs and Vikings defensive end Jared Allen, and Eagles, Saints and Raiders cornerback Eric Allen being selected.

Sharpe and his brother Shannon become the first pair of brothers in NFL history to each be selected to the Hall of Fame. Many thought it would be Peyton and Eli Manning, but Eli didn’t make it on the first ballot, which is arguably the biggest story of this year’s election cycle, though Luke Kuechly also failed to make it first time with a stronger résumé.

Saquon Barkley, meanwhile, couldn’t make NFL Honors on Thursday night to accept his Offensive Player of the Year award. He has a game to play Sunday.

Barkley’s monster first teason with the Philadelphia Eagles, which will end in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, now includes the award for the top offensive player in the NFL. Barkley was one of the big winners at NFL Honors on Thursday, the league’s annual awards show.

Lamar Jackson was the first-team All-Pro quarterback but the same 50 voters selected Allen over Jackson as the MVP. It’s Allen’s first MVP award after he had a stellar season with the Bills.

When Allen fell to the Bills with the seventh pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, he was no sure thing. That’s why he didn’t go with the first pick or even in the top five.

Allen was an inaccurate quarterback coming out of the University of Wyoming, and didn’t dominate the competition in the Mountain West Conference. But he had a skill set, including a phenomenal arm, that made him an exciting high-end prospect. If he developed his talent, his ceiling was becoming the NFL’s best quarterback.

Allen became everything the Bills could have dreamed of. And now Allen is an MVP, beating out Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson to win his first NFL MVP award, which was given out at Thursday’s NFL Honors show. He’s the third Bills player to win the award, joining Thurman Thomas in 1991 and O.J. Simpson in 1973.

“Feels good,” Allen said backstage after receiving his award. “I feel like my teammates wanted this for me than I did, but I’m honored.”

Offensive Player of the Year is becoming the top non-quarterback award, and there wasn’t much question who would win it.

Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards this season, turning in one of the all-time great seasons a running back ever had in NFL history. He became the sixth straight running back or receiver to win the OPOY award.

Barkley signed with the Eagles as a free agent this offseason after six seasons with the New York Giants. With every 100-yard game for Barkley — there were 14 of them, counting playoffs, including a 255-yard game in Week 12 against the Los Angeles Rams — the Giants’ decision to not sign Barkley to a long-term deal before he hit free agency looked even worse.

Barkley got 35 first-place votes. Lamar Jackson, who finished second, got 12 first-place votes. Derrick Henry, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow got one first-place vote each.

When none of the NFL’s elite pass rushers had a big season, it opened up the door for Surtain to take the league’s top defensive award.

Surtain, who was phenomenal in coverage all season for a Broncos team that made the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season, won his first career DPOY award.

Surtain is just the second corner cornerback to win DPOY since 2009, joining Stephon Gilmore in 2019.

“This is a surreal feeling honestly,” Surtain said backstage after receiving his award. “This is something I worked for this offseason, I manifested it, and it’s a dream come true.”

Surtain won comfortably but eight different players got first-place votes. Surtain got 26, Trey Hendrickson was second with 11, Myles Garrett got five, T.J. Watt got three, Zack Baun got two and one each went to Kerby Joseph, Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Commanders QB Jayden Daniels

Daniels had big moment after big moment as a rookie while he transformed a Commanders franchise.

Daniels announced to the NFL world he had arrived when he completed 21-of-23 passes for 254 yards in a 38-33 upset win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football in Week 3. Daniels also had a Hail Mary touchdown to beat the Chicago Bears with no time on the clock, threw five touchdowns including one with six seconds left to beat the eventual NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles and led playoff wins over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions.

Daniels had 3,568 passing yards, 891 rushing yards and even though other rookies like Caleb Williams and Bo Nix had promising rookie seasons, there was no doubt who was the NFL’s top rookie. He was asked what allowed him to have so much success right away.

“I just think my coaching staff and the whole organization making it as comfortable for me to just allow me to be myself,” Daniels said.

Daniels got 49 of 50 first-place votes, with the other going to Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers.

Verse was the 19th pick of the draft and helped the Rams move to their next phase on defense after Aaron Donald’s retirement. Verse had 66 tackles and 4.5 sacks.

He’s the first Rams Defensive Rookie of the Year since Donald in 2014.

Verse got 37 first-place votes, Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell got seven and four other players got one each.

Burrow’s 2023 season ended with a wrist injury but he came back strong. He was an MVP finalist and led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns.

Burrow also won Comeback Player of the Year in 2021 when he returned from a torn ACL.

The Vikings weren’t expected to be playoff contenders this season, then lost first-round pick J.J. McCarthy to a season-ending knee injury in December. But the Vikings went 14-3 with Sam Darnold having a resurgent season at quarterback, and O’Connell was rewarded with the NFL Coach of the Year. O’Connell has a 34-17 record over his three seasons as Vikings coach.

It was a close vote. O’Connell got 25 first-place votes, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell finished second and got 19 first-place votes, Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs got four votes and Denver Broncos’ Sean Payton and Washington Commanders’ Dan Quinn got one each.

Armstead, who spent the first nine seasons of his career with the 49ers before joining the Jaguars last offseason, won the NFL’s award for community service. In 2019, he established the Armstead Academic Project (AAP), which has a focus on improving literacy rates.

San Diego Chargers fans have a reason to celebrate again.

The Chargers moved to Los Angeles after the 2016 season, leaving their San Diego fans with heartache and old memories. Many of those memories include tight end Antonio Gates, who was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his second time on the ballot. He was part of the 2025 class, which was announced Thursday at NFL Honors.

The rest of the class includes defensive end Jared Allen, cornerback Eric Allen, and receiver Sterling Sharpe.

Gates played 14 of his 16 seasons in San Diego and his final two in Los Angeles, picking up 11,841 yards and 116 touchdowns. He was an eight-time Pro Bowler, three-time first-team All-Pro and a member of the All-Decade Team of the 2000s. Gates’ Hall of Fame story is incredible when considering the often-told tale that he did not play college football. He played basketball at Eastern Michigan for a year and then two seasons at Kent State. In his final basketball season he averaged 20.6 points per game. That athleticism translated well to the NFL.

“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Gates said after the announcement. “There’s no way to describe this feeling. You just life in the moment and have gratitude.”

Jared Allen was one of the premier pass rushers of his era, leading the NFL in sacks twice including a 22-sack season in 2011. Allen had 136 career sacks with four teams (Chiefs, Vikings, Bears, Panthers).

Eric Allen was a six-time Pro Bowler with 54 career interceptions over 14 years with the Eagles, Raiders and Saints.

Sharpe’s career was cut short due to a neck injury but led the NFL in receptions three times in seven seasons. He had 8,134 yards and 65 touchdowns in those seven seasons, all with the Packers. He joins his brother Shannon Sharpe in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl-honors-josh-allen-edges-lamar-jackson-for-mvp-while-saquon-barkley-is-opoy-and-4-man-hall-of-fame-class-revealed-143117664.html

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