This shouldn’t come as a surprise.
It was announced on Thursday that three Cincinnati Bengals players were nominated for NFL AP Awards. Quarterback Joe Burrow is a finalist for NFL MVP and Comeback Player of the Year, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase is a finalist for Offensive Player of the Year, and defensive end Trey Hendrickson was nominated for Defensive Player of the Year.
Burrow was absolutely dominant throughout the season, especially down the stretch. He became the first player in NFL history to pass for at least 250 yards and three touchdowns in seven consecutive games. He finished the year with 460 completions (first in the league), 4,918 yards (also first) and 43 touchdowns (first again) with only nine interceptions. He previously won Comeback Player of the Year in 2021 after he took the Bengals to the Super Bowl following a devastating knee injury suffered in Week 11 of the previous year.
Chase won the Triple Crown in 2025. He finished with 127 receptions for 1,708 yards and 17 touchdowns. He broke TJ Houshmandzadeh’s franchise record for receptions in a single season, set in 2007. He broke his own franchise record for receiving yards in a single season, which he set in 2021, and he tied Carl Pickens’ single-season record for receiving touchdowns, which was set in 1995.
Hendrickson has been dominant rushing from the quarterback’s left side for two years now. He finished the season with 17.5 sacks, which is most in the league. He tied his own franchise record for sacks in a single season from 2023. Unfortunately, the Bengals couldn’t generate much pressure if it wasn’t coming from Hendrickson until it was too late.
The winners will be announced on Thursday, February 6 at the 2025 NFL Honors in New Orleans. If Burrow wins MVP, he’ll join Kenny Anderson and Boomer Esiason, who were named MVP while leading the Bengals. Chase would join Anderson as the only other Bengal to be named AP Offensive Player of the Year. No Bengals player has ever been named AP Defensive Player of the Year, so if Hendrickson wins he’ll be making franchise history.
As of six days ago, Vegas favored Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Saquon Barkley over Burrow (+2000) for MVP, and they liked Barkley for OPOY over Chase (+2500). Hendrickson (+6600), who led the league in sacks, is behind TJ Watt, Patrick Surtain II and Myles Garrett when it comes to odds to win DPOY. These odds will likely change, though.
I guess wins aren’t just a quarterback stat.
