Category of NFL Honors | First awarded 2011 | |
People also search for Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award | ||
The AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award is given annually by the Associated Press to the offensive player in the National Football League (NFL) believed to have had the most outstanding season. The winner is chosen by votes from a nationwide panel of sportswriters who regularly follow the NFL. Multiple-award winners include Marshall Faulk and Earl Campbell, both of whom won the award three times, each consecutively. Jerry Rice, Barry Sanders, Tom Brady, Terrell Davis, Drew Brees, and Peyton Manning have each won the award twice. The award is currently held by quarterback Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers, who received it for the 2015 NFL season after passing for 3,837 yards and 35 touchdowns while rushing for 636 yards and ten touchdowns.
Nearly every winner of the award has been either a running back or a quarterback, with Rice being the only exception, winning twice as a wide receiver. Running backs have won the award 24 times, followed by quarterbacks, with 18 awards. Winners have often been awarded after record-breaking or near record-breaking offensive seasons. Running back O. J. Simpson won the award for 1973 after rushing for a record 2,003 yards, becoming the first NFL player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. When his record was broken by Eric Dickerson in 1984, Dickerson placed second in voting behind quarterback Dan Marino, who that year was the first to pass for 5,000 yards in a season. Marino's 5,084 yards stood as the record for 27 years before being broken by Drew Brees in 2011, who won that season's award. In turn, Brees' record was broken by 2013 winner Peyton Manning, who set NFL single-season records for passing yards (5,477) and passing touchdowns (55).
Of the 44 winners, 26 were also named the AP NFL Most Valuable Player in the same season. Since 2011, both awards have been given out at the annual NFL Honors ceremony along with other awards, including the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award and AP NFL Rookie of the Year Award.