The divisional round of the playoffs is now behind us and fans were once again left on the edge of their seats as the post-season reached the Conference Championship stage.
The Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the teams still standing in the race for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
By the end of this week, we will know who will compete for one of the biggest prizes in sport and reaching this stage of the season also means it is nearly time for some individual awards to be given out.
Here, we take a look at who could win some of the biggest prizes in the NFL in the coming weeks.
MVP Award Surely Rodgers’ to Lose
This year’s race for the MVP looks set to be between Kansas’ Patrick Mahomes and Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers.
Each quarterback has led their team to the top seed in the conference, and there is every chance they will play each other in the Super Bowl in February.
Rodgers has 48 touchdowns to his name this year, throwing for 4299 yards in total. Mahomes has ten less touchdowns but racked up 4740 yards in one less game than his rival.
While Mahomes continues to dominate for Kansas, Rodgers’ feat looks slightly more impressive considering he is 37.
"The timing was perfect…it was just a great play design."@AaronRodgers12 & @tae15adams make it look easy.
#GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/hBn05m0QZT
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) January 19, 2021
A recent poll by Sports Illustrated signalled that Rodgers is likely to win MVP this season, while he is now 3/1 to win Super Bowl MVP next month.
Browns’ Resurgence Set to Help Stefanski’s Case
The NFL Coach of the Year award is one of the most prestigious, and this year’s battle looks to be fierce.
Their recent losses mean Washington coach Ron Rivera and Pittsburgh Steelers chief Mike Tomlin will miss out, but they have both worked wonders with their respective teams.
All four coaches still working with their teams in the playoffs deserve mention, with Andy Reid, Matt LaFleur and Sean McDermott doing all they can to help the Chiefs, Packers or Bills win the Super Bowl.
Reid is within touching distance of reaching successive Super Bowls, while LaFleur continues to get the best out of the Packers offense and they can be backed at 2/1 to win the Super Bowl this season.
McDermott’s relentless work ethic has helped Josh Allen become one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, but they may all miss out at this year’s awards ceremony.
In his first season with the Cleveland Browns, Kevin Stefanski helped his team end their 18-year wait for the playoffs. The Browns won 11 games for the first time since 1994, and his tactics got the very best out of running back Nick Chubb.
The Browns’ roster does not possess the same talent as some of the other teams in the playoffs and the coach has worked wonders. It would come as a huge surprise to see Stefanski miss out at this year’s ceremony.
Saints’ Exit Should not Affect Kamara
Even though they were eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday, New Orleans fans could still be celebrating this year.
While Drew Brees might be about to hang up the boots, running back Alvin Kamara looks set to stay for the foreseeable future.
Without disrespecting Brees’ achievements this year, Kamara pretty much ran the Saints’ offense, especially with Brees and Michael Thomas spending a lot of time on the sidelines.
Kamara’s relentless power caused carnage throughout the season, and he is likely to win Offensive Player of the Year.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
