NFL Honors Awards Recap: Was Demeco Ryans Robbed?
The NFL Honors Awards Odds Prove Otherwise
NFL Honors Saw Upsets But Not The Ones You Think
Today, Demeco Ryans is trending on social media because he narrowly lost for the Coach of the Year Award. The Houston Texans head coach was a fan favorite as he, a rookie coach, led a seemingly moribund franchise back to the playoffs. But if we look more closely at the NFL Honor Awards odds, it was not the upset fans cry about. There were other upsets instead.
The Upsets of the NFL Honors
With every awards show, there will always be a public outcry about someone being “snubbed” or “robbed.” Ryans is that person, as he lost to Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski on a tiebreaker. Stefanski had one more first-place vote on his ballot than Ryans and thus won the Coach of the Year Award, his second one. But this is not the robbery people think.
Both Demeco Ryans and Stefanski were long shots to win the award when the NFL Honors Awards odds were released in the preseason. Both were longer than 20-1 in some books. However, by the end of the regular season, Stefanski became a significant favorite to win at -1000. Ryans was still long at 10-1.
This is a terrible beat for punters who wagered on Ryan. Alas, he was not among the NFL Honors winners. That’s alright, as Stefanski deserved it as he coached the Browns back to the playoffs despite a litany of injuries. And speaking of Cleveland, it did pull off an upset on the show.
Quarterback Joe Flacco edged Bills safety Damar Hamlin to win the Comeback Player of the Year Award. Flacco was the Browns’ fifth quarterback and he took the bull by the horns to win as the CBPOY at NFL Honors Awards odds of +200. Hamlin was favored at -300 as he returned to the NFL despite suffering a cardiac arrest last season.
Houston was one of the NFL teams with multiple winners despite Ryans’s alleged robbery. As expected, quarterback C.J. Stroud won the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, with odds at -1000 or shorter. But Will Anderson Jr. won the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award as the +225 underdog. So even if Ryans came away empty-handed, his team still won some hardware.
The Rest of the NFL Awards Winners Were Obvious
That about wraps it up for the NFL Awards winners worth noting. The rest of the winners were heavy favorites once the 2023 NFL regular season finished. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson won his second NFL MVP award, and his odds were so short it’s not even worth mentioning.
But while Jackson finished as the obvious winner, it took him a while to get here. The Ravens star was behind players like Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen, and even Brock Purdy to win the MVP award. Even 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey had shorter odds.
Jackson opened the regular season at 14-1 to win, which made him the seventh-likeliest player to do so. He led the Ravens to an NFL-best 13 wins and a +203 point differential. Baltimore had one of the shorter Super Bowl odds.
Christian McCaffrey didn’t win the MVP award. But he and Browns defensive end Myles Garrett won their respective Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year awards. The former was -350 to win, and the latter was -200, respectively.
During the preseason, shrewd bettors could have bet McCaffrey at 11-1 and Garrett at +600. The star back led the NFL in rushing yards and yards from scrimmage, along with total touchdowns at 21. Garrett, on the other hand, generated 14 sacks and led defenders in the “approximate value” metric.
And at the Point Spreads NFL news front, we got it covered for NFL betting odds, NFL team standings, and all things right for wild, spot-on wagering!
