The Philadelphia Eagles have been snubbed from NFL Honors for more than a decade. If you don’t win an award, the best thing you can do is say, ‘Well, those awards suck. They don’t mean anything and the people who vote don’t know it.’ But deep inside it hurts.
There have been plenty of players over the years who absolutely deserved national recognition for what they did, and in the end they never got it. That’s actually what’s stupid.
There are a handful of players on the roster (and a grumpy old defensive coordinator) who are at or near the top of their respective categories. For posterity, these opportunities come from Vegas Insiders List.
Most Valuable Player
The last time the Eagles had a player win the NFL MVP was Norm Van Brocklin in 1960… so it’s been a hot minute since it happened.
Right now, the Bills’ Josh Allen (+150) and the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson (+200) are trading back and forth between who has the best odds to win the MVP each week. Behind them are the Lions’ Jared Goff (+600), Patrick Mahomes (+1400) and then Jalen Hurts (+1400).
The general idea of the MVP is that it goes to the quarterback of one of the teams that wins their conference. Jalen isn’t playing better than Josh or Lamar right now, so if he were to win, it would likely be via the NFC’s top-ranked quarterback route.
For what it’s worth, Saquon Barkley is +4000 to win the MVP, but the award has gone to a quarterback every year since 2012. Adrian Peterson won the award that season after rushing for 2,097 yards and 12 touchdowns.
If you want to take that yardage as a precedent for a non-QB to win the award, Saquon still needs 960 rushing yards and four more touchdowns in the past seven games. That’s about 137 yards per play.
It would be a tall order to make that happen… but this is Saquon we’re talking about. Everything is possible through him.
Offensive Player of the Year
If Saquon were to win the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year, he would be the first Eagle ever to do so. Right now, he has the best odds to win at +115, with Derrick Henry (+140) right behind him and Ja’Marr Chase (+700) rounding out the top three.
It’s cool that this year the discussion for OPOY is “Saquon and Derrick Henry are so good” and not “Tyreek might win it if he gets 2,000 yards.” The world of football is much more fun when you don’t have to argue with numbers and statistics, but instead argue about backward hurdles or monstrous stiff arms.
Defensive Player of the Year
Going into the season, we were all hoping that Jalen Carter would explode off the screen and grind out DPOY performances week after week. That hasn’t necessarily been the case.
Sure, he’s playing really well, but if you want to win the DPOY, you need sacks or interceptions. He only has 3.5 sacks so far this season, which is why he has very poor odds of winning. DraftKings has him at +2200, but almost everyone else has him at +10000 or more.
Currently, TJ Watt has the best odds of -185. It would be the second time that he and his crazy eyes win the prize (2021). We’ll see him in Week 15 when the Steelers come to Philadelphia.
The last Eagle to win this award was Reggie White in 1987, when he had 21 sacks, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
The Eagles drafted three skill players in the 2024 draft, running back Will Shipley (fourth round), wide receiver Ainias Smith (fifth round) and wide receiver Johnny Wilson (sixth round).
So far this season: Shipley has 19 carries for 49 yards. Smith has three catches for six yards and one carry (it was a backwards pass) for two yards. Wilson has two catches for 14 yards and a touchdown.
These guys are not going to win the award. Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix and Brock Bowers are all having great rookie seasons.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Okay, now we’re talking. Quinyon Mitchell has +320 odds to win this award, which puts him just behind the Rams’ Jared Verse (-190). The only reason Quinyon isn’t at the top is because of his lack of interceptions and Verse’s tendency to get after the quarterback.
Currently, Verse has 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He’s good, but not as good as Q. You could make a strong argument that sacks are easier to come by than interceptions.
In general, sacks are partially due to the other guys on the defensive line, while interceptions are made by just one person. Additionally, with every passing play there is a chance of sacks. Interceptions only occur if the ball is thrown near you.
We’re at a point where quarterbacks aren’t throwing the ball to Quinyon because he’s so good in coverage. It was early in the season when quarterbacks were testing him, and he had three near-interceptions. He just doesn’t get the chance anymore.
The Eagles head to Los Angeles this week to play the Rams, and that means there will be an indirect matchup between Verse and Q. If he can play and get a pick against Matthew Stafford while Verse is handled by the offensive line of the Eagles line, it will give him a good jump in the DROY odds.
Side note: Quinyon says he’s heard the nicknames and likes “Quintanamo Bay.” If he likes it, he is called that. This man rocks.
Quinyon approves of Quintanamo Bay #Eagles pic.twitter.com/ApARc7vWYg
— Isko (@Isko_5) November 20, 2024
Comeback Player of the Year
This award has become a joke. In 2022, Geno Smith won the award for playing well… and that was it. He wasn’t coming back from an injury or anything, he was just bad, and then he was good. That same year, 34-year-old Brandon Graham suffered an Achilles tendon injury and had eleven sacks. It’s nonsense.
The Eagles don’t really have anyone in contention for this award after actually being healthy in 2023. If there was anyone to nominate, it would be Mekhi Becton who was constantly injured playing for the Jets, and now that he’s an Eagle, he’s a top-tier right guard.
The Eagle to win this award was Michael Vick in 2010, who threw for 3,018 yards, 21 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He also ran for 676 yards and nine touchdowns.
Coach of the Year
Sirianni’s antics, poor play and overall responsibilities will not allow him to win this award. Especially when you look at the talent on his team’s roster. Normally, this award goes to the coach of a team that overachieves based on the team’s talent.
Assistant Coach of the Year
There are no odds available for this one, but Vic Fangio should absolutely win it. He has turned the defense around from being at or near the bottom in 2023 to the best defense in the league this season. That’s just incredible.
It wouldn’t be the first time he won this award. He won in 2018 when he was the Bears’ defensive coordinator, and that defense was arguably not as good as his defense is now.
Something to think about about this award is that it has a bad name. It should be “Coordinator of the Year” instead of “Assistant Coach of the Year.” Assistant Coach of the Year implies that any positional coach could win, but if that were the case, Jeff Stoutland would have won the title for the last eight years.
Game/moment of the year
In the past, plays like Justin Jefferson’s catch against the Bills, Justin Tucker’s 66-yard field goal against the Lions and Odell Beckham Jr.’s one-handed catch have been a hit. won this prize. This year it will be Saquon’s back hurdle. There’s just nothing cooler than that.
Hell, they just put it in Madden. It’s unprecedented for someone to do something so amazing that they put it in a video game less than a month later. Frankly, technology has never done that before, but let’s not focus on that. Let’s focus on our man who performed the most amazing physical act in the history of mankind.
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