Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes wins 2nd MVP ahead of Super Bowl LVII

Patrick Mahomes dominated the voting for the AP NFL Most Valuable Player award. Now, he'll try to break the MVP curse.

Mahomes, who also won in 2018, easily outdistanced Jalen Hurts, receiving 48 of 50 first-place votes from a nationwide panel of media members who regularly cover the league. He earned 490 points to 193 for Hurts, who got one first-place vote, 26 seconds, 11 thirds and 10 fourths.

Mahomes thanked the Kansas City organization and his teammates in a video at NFL Honors on Thursday night.

"I would never be standing here without y'all," Mahomes said. "Every day we've given everything we have together to win the ultimate goal, the Super Bowl. Let's continue to go for that dream this weekend."

The last nine MVPs to play in the Super Bowl that season are 0-9. Kurt Warner was the last to win both the MVP award and Super Bowl following the 1999 season.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen received the other first-place vote, finishing third with 151 points. Bengals QB Joe Burrow placed fourth and Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson came in fifth.

The 27-year-old Mahomes is the third player to win his second MVP before turning 28, joining Brett Favre (27) and Jim Brown (22).

Mahomes was the 2018 NFL MVP in his first full season as a starter.

Kansas City lost the AFC championship game that season but Mahomes led them to a Super Bowl victory over San Francisco the following season.

Daboll wins Coach of the Year

In the second-closest race Thursday, Brian Daboll won AP Coach of the Year after leading the New York Giants to their first playoff appearance in six years.

Daboll received 16 first-place votes and 123 total points to outpace 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who got 12 votes for first and 100 points.

Jaguars coach Doug Pederson finished third with 75 points, including five first-place votes.

"It's a tremendous honour," Daboll said. "You don't think about that when you take a job. You think about leading a team and building the culture.

Daboll was born in Welland, Ont.

DeMeco Ryans, who spent the past two seasons as the defensive coordinator of the 49ers, was named AP Assistant Coach of the Year. He is now the head coach of the Texans.

49ers' Bosa claims Defensive Player of the Year

Nick Bosa made it a landslide for the AP Defensive Player of the Year award. San Francisco's All-Pro defensive end received 46 first-place votes after leading the NFL with 18 1/2 sacks in the regular season.

Bosa and the 49ers lost to the Eagles 31-7 in the NFC title game. He joked that he's ready to start the season now.

Jets cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner won the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year award. Gardner, the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, started every game for the Jets. He had two interceptions and allowed just 33 catches on 73 targets.

Jets receiver Garrett Wilson edged out Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker for the AP Offensive Rookie of the year award.

"This means everything.," Wilson said. "You put in a lot of work to end up in this point and to see it come to fruition, it's awesome."

Wilson and Gardner are the third teammates to win the offensive and defensive rookie awards in the same season. Alvin Kamara and Marshon Lattimore did it with the Saints in 2017 and Detroit's Mel Farr and Lem Barney did it in 1967.

"I was more happy for Garrett," Gardner said.

Vikings' Jefferson named Offensive Player of the Year

Justin Jefferson ran away with the AP Offensive Player of the Year award. Minnesota's All-Pro wide receiver got 35 first-place votes and earned 192 points, outdistancing runner up Mahomes by a significant margin.

"It means a lot, especially where I come from, this doesn't happen," Jefferson said. "I was always doubted, wasn't highly recruited. Having this award is amazing."

Geno Smith, who earned his first Pro Bowl berth after becoming a full-time starter for the first time since 2014, is the AP Comeback Player of the Year. The Seattle Seahawks quarterback threw for 4,282 yards, 30 TDs and led Seattle to an NFC wild-card berth.

Cowboys' Prescott wins Walter Payton Man of the Year

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott won the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year award on Thursday night.

The two-time Pro Bowl selection is the fourth Cowboys player to win the award, joining Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and former teammate Jason Witten.

The award — the recipient of which is picked from 32 nominees, one on each team — is given to an NFL player for his off-the-field community service activities, as well as on-the-field success.

The Haughton, Louisiana, native lost his mother, Peggy, in 2013 to cancer when he was a quarterback at Mississippi State. His brother, Jace, died of suicide in 2020.

Prescott's Faith Fight Finish foundation has raised funds for several causes, including colon cancer research. The quarterback has also been very open about suicide prevention and mental health. For winning the award, Prescott's foundation receives $255,000 US. The other 31 finalists receive $55,000 for the charity of their choice.

The award is named after late running back and Pro Football Hall of Famer Walter Payton. Los Angeles Rams offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth was last year's winner.

Damar Hamlin, medical staff recognized

The first responders who saved Damar Hamlin's life were recognized with a tribute video before being invited onto the stage.

The man they saved was right behind them.

Hamlin made his second appearance in Phoenix during Super Bowl week Thursday night, paying tribute to those who had a hand in giving him a second chance at life.

"My entire life, I felt like God was using me to give others hope and now with a new set of circumstances, I can say he's doing what he's always done," Hamlin said from the stage at Phoenix Convention Center. "I have a long journey ahead, a journey full of unknowns and a journey full of milestones, but it's a lot easier to face your fears when you know your purpose."

He appeared again on Thursday night after the Bills and Cincinnati Bengals training and medical staffs, along with the staff at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center — collectively called "Team Damar" — were recognized.

Bills assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington, who performed CPR on Hamlin on the field, also earned a bit of appreciation, receiving a fifth-place vote for the NFL's MVP award.

Once onstage, Hamlin personally thanked an ICU doctor named Yusef, who, three nights into his hospital stay, told him he had been through something similar.

"He showed me he was OK and that meant so much to me," said Hamlin, who also thanked everyone on stage. "There was so much uncertainty at the time and just him coming to me, showing I could live a normal life again, it meant so much to me and my mom. I want to give a big thank you to him."

In the days and weeks after Hamlin's collapse, his toy drive fundraiser received unexpected GoFundMe donations. "Chasing M's" has since raised more than $9 million.

"Sudden cardiac arrest is something I never would have chosen to be a part of my story, but that's because our own visions are too small even when we think we see the whole picture," Hamlin said. "My vision was about playing in the NFL and being the best player I could be, but God's plan was to have a purpose greater than any game in this world."

'Keep fighting no matter the circumstances'

Hamlin spent nearly a week in a Cincinnati hospital before being flown to Buffalo, where he spent a couple of days in the hospital before being released on Jan. 11. He has made steady progress in what will be a long recovery, appearing at the Bills facility before attending their divisional game against Cincinnati.

"Every day I'm amazed that my experiences could encourage so many others across the country and even across the world — encourage to pray, encourage to spread love and encourage to keep fighting no matter the circumstances," Hamlin said.

Hamlin has said he plans to support young people through education and sports with the GoFundMe donations. He also will use proceeds from the sale of new T-shirts, emblazoned with "Did We Win?" along with his hands in the shape of a heart, to raise money for the trauma center in Cincinnati that treated him.

"I told my teammates you might as well give the man of the year to Damar Hamlin, just for the way he's galvanized our country, brought us together," said Prescott. "[He] made so many people understand the power of prayer, the power of community, the power of coming together and resiliency, not giving up and having faith."