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Sport360's NFL regular season awards

Jay Asser 11:30 03/01/2017
Our man Jay Asser makes his regular season picks.

With the regular season now over, here are our top picks and highlights from the 97th campaign of NFL action.

The season concludes with the Super Bowl LI in February but here’s what we have made of the plays so far.

Do you agree?

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MVP

Matt Ryan, Atlanta

The question of what ‘Most Valuable Player’ actually means will never stop coming up, but if you’re making the argument for who had the most statistically-successful season while still being crucial to his team, Ryan’s case is bulletproof.

The Atlanta quarterback is in the top three of every major statistical category for quarterbacks and leads yards per attempt with a whopping 9.26 (a full yard more than anyone else) and passer rating at 117.1.

He also operated the highest-scoring attack in the league and won 11 games despite having the 27th-ranked scoring defence.

Pre-season pick: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Tom Brady, New England

Death, taxes and Tom Brady being really, really good. All things you can count on.

He could easily win MVP, but should at worst earn Offensive Player of the Year for the masterful season he just put together, which includes setting the NFL record for best touchdown to interception ratio (28:2).

Brady also had a 10-1 record as a starter and did all of this at the age of 39. Four-game suspension be damned.

Pre-season pick: Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Khalil Mack, Oakland

His numbers may not be as good as the year before, especially his sack total which dropped from 15.0 to 11.0, but Mack was a monster nonetheless.

The Raiders defensive end added 73 combined tackles, five forced fumbles, three fumble recovers, one interception, one defensive touchdown, three passes defended and nine stuffs.

He can do it all defensively and shows his worth week in and week out.

Pre-season pick: Khalil Mack, Oakland

OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas

The only player who challenged the Cowboys running back for this award was his own team-mate, quarterback Dak Prescott.

What Prescott did was impressive, but Elliott has been a beast all year and led the league in rushing with 1,631 yards as a rookie.

It’s safe to say he lived up to the hype by a comfortable margin and even though a lot of credit should go to Dallas’ stellar offensive line, someone still had to do the hard work of carrying the ball and Elliott thrived.

Pre-season pick: Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas

DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Joey Bosa, San Diego

Speaking of living up to the hype, the Chargers defensive end showed he’s every bit the prospect he was expected to be. Bosa wasn’t just good for his rookie class, but historically great.

His 60 pressures and 38 hurries are the most by any defender in the last 11 years through the first 12 games of their career, with his 10.5 sacks trailling only Von Miller’s 11.5 in 2011.

Pre-season pick: Myles Jack, Jacksonville

COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Jordy Nelson, Green Bay

The Packers wide receiver is great in a vacuum, but so much of his worth is tied to sparking Aaron Rodgers.

It’s no coincidence that Rodgers looked more like his dominant self with his favourite target back on the field healthy, with Nelson grabbing 97 balls for 1,257 yards and 14 touchdowns.

This came after Nelson missed all of last year with a torn ACL, but he didn’t miss a beat.

Pre-season pick: Andrew Luck, Indianapolis

COACH OF THE YEAR

Bill Belichick, New England

We have to find new ways to challenge him at this point. It’s getting too easy for him.

Consider this: the Pats finished with the best record in the NFL at 14-2 and did it while going 3-1 to start the year with their backup and third-string quarterback.

On top of that, Belichick traded one of his best defensive players in Jamie Collins in the middle of the year and the defence only improved, ending as the best scoring unit in the league. Greatness shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Pre-season pick: Bill Belichick, New England

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