HOUSTON — The Houston Texans remarkable turnaround this season could land more honors for rookies CJ Stroud and Will Anderson Jr. and first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans.
The Associated Press has named Ryans as a 2023 NFL Coach of the Year finalist. He took the Texans from the AFC South's worst to first in his rookie season. The team went from 3-13 in 2022 to 10-7 this season with a trip to the playoffs for the first time since 2019. The Texans routed the Browns in a wild-card playoff before losing at Baltimore in the divisional round.
Ryans, who was drafted by Houston in 2006, played with the Texans through 2011 before finishing his playing career in Philadelphia. He was defensive coordinator in San Francisco for two years before coming to Houston.
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Quarterback CJ Stroud and edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. are finalists for AP Offensive and Defensive rookies of the year, respectively.
Stroud, the No. 2 pick in the draft, finished the season with 4,557 passing yards (including the postseason), which is the second-most in NFL history by a rookie. He also set rookie records for passes without an interception to start a career at 192 and passing yards in a game with 470.
Anderson, who was drafted third overall in last year's draft, had 45 tackles in 15 games, 29 of which were solo. He also had seven sacks.
Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik is a finalist for Assistant Coach of the Year.
The Texans rookies were also honored by the Pro Football Writers of America. Stroud was named the Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year. Anderson earned the PFWA Defensive Rookie of the Year honors and Ryans was PFWA Coach of the Year. Ryans also won NFL 101's 2023 AFC Coach of the Year.
Other AP 2023 NFL awards
Lamar Jackson, Christian McCaffrey and Dak Prescott are finalists for The Associated Press 2023 NFL Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year awards.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen and 49ers QB Brock Purdy also are finalists for MVP.
Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill and Cowboys wideout CeeDee Lamb are the other two finalists for Offensive Player of the Year.
Jackson, the 2019 NFL MVP, threw for 3,678 yards and 24 touchdowns and also ran for 821 yards and five scores. He helped the Baltimore Ravens (14-4) finish with the best record in the league and led them to a playoff win over Houston. Jackson received 45 of 50 votes for AP first-team All-Pro.
The Ravens will host the Kansas City Chiefs (13-6) in the AFC championship game on Sunday.
Prescott had 4,516 yards passing, an NFL-best 36 TD passes and a 105.9 passer rating while leading Dallas to an NFC East title. But the Cowboys were eliminated in the wild-card round by Green Bay.
McCaffrey, a unanimous choices for AP All-Pro, led the NFL with 1,459 yards rushing and had 14 rushing TDs for San Francisco. He also had 564 yards receiving for seven scores.
Purdy, McCaffrey and the 49ers (13-5) will host the Detroit Lions (14-5) in the NFC championship game on Sunday.
The Cleveland Browns have finalists in four categories: Myles Garrett for Defensive Player of the Year; Kevin Stefanski for Coach of the Year; Joe Flacco for Comeback Player of the Year; Jim Schwartz for Assistant Coach of the Year.
Cowboys edge Micah Parsons and cornerback DaRon Bland, Raiders edge Maxx Crosby and Steelers edge T.J. Watt join Garrett as finalists for Defensive Player of the Year.
Watt led the NFL with 19 sacks, Crosby had 14 1/2 and Garrett and Parsons each had 14. Bland set an NFL record with five interception returns for a touchdown.
Lions tight end Sam LaPorta and running back Jahmyr Gibbs, Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua and Falcons running back Bijan Robinson are finalists for Offensive Rookie of the Year along with Stroud.
Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter, Rams defensive lineman Kobie Turner, Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon join Anderson as finalists for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Along with Ryans and Stefanski, Detroit’s Dan Campbell, San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan and Baltimore’s John Harbaugh are finalists for Coach of the Year.
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, Rams QB Matthew Stafford, Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa and Bills safety Damar Hamlin join Flacco as finalists for Comeback Player of the Year.
This was the second year for the AP’s weighted voting system. Voters chose a top five for MVP and top three for all other awards. For MVP, first-place votes were worth 10 points. Second through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.