PFWA Names Henry NFL's Best Offensive Player ... Sort Of

Titans running back recognized, but -- as usual -- a quarterback claims the top individual honor.

Honestly, it is something of a consolation prize.

As far as consolation prizes go, however, it is a pretty good one.

The Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) named Derrick Henry its 2020 NFL Offensive Player of the Year on Wednesday. The distinction recognizes – among other things – the fact that the Tennessee Titans running back became the eighth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, produced the fifth highest rushing total ever (2,027 yards) and became the league’s first back-to-back rushing champion in more than a decade.

The PFWA also named Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers its 2020 Most Valuable Player and Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald the Defensive Player of the Year.

Seven times in the past 10 years, the PFWA’s Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year were the same guy. The three times that they were different, including this one, a quarterback was named MVP and a running back was named Offensive Player of the Year. That was the case in 2014 with Rodgers and running back DeMarco Murray and in 2017 with quarterback Tom Brady and running back Todd Gurley.

Six of the seven who doubled up were quarterbacks. The exception was running back Adrian Peterson in 2012, when he was the NFL’s last 2,000-yard rusher prior to Henry. That season, Peterson ran for 2,097 yards, the second highest total in NFL history.

Two other 2,000-yard rushers, Barry Sanders in 1997 and Jamal Lewis in 2003, also claimed both honors.

Tennessee’s Chris Johnson is the only 2,00-yard rusher who won neither. Peyton Manning won both in 2009, the year Johnson ran for 2,006 yards and set an NFL record with 2,509 yards from scrimmage.

This time, Rodgers claimed the top individual honor after he led the league with 48 touchdown passes with just five interceptions for the team that finished as the top seed in the NFC. He tied an NFL record with 12 games of at least three touchdown passes and produced the second-highest passer rating ever (121.5).

Henry is the first Tennessee Titans named PFWA Offensive Player of the Year, which has been voted on annually since 1992. He capped his campaign with a franchise-record 250 rushing yards in Week 17 at Houston and became the first player in NFL history to have four games with at least 175 rushing yards and four touchdowns in a single season.

A similar division of awards is expected at the 10th Annual NFL Honors, when the official NFL award winners will be revealed. That will take place in a televised ceremony on Feb. 6, the night before Super Bowl LV.

The NFL MVP award, which is administered by The Associated Press, is seen as a competition between three quarterbacks, Rodgers, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Buffalo’s Josh Allen, with Rodgers considered the clear favorite.

The PFWA awards were determined by a vote of its membership, which consists of accredited writers who cover the league’s 32 teams on a daily basis.