Ironically, it may have been this blocked field goal -- a play on special teams -- that clinched Myles Garrett the AP defensive player of the year award.
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
The way the Browns dominated NFL Honors on Thursday night, you’d think they were still alive and competing in the Super Bowl.
The Browns went four for four in the major categories they had candidates in the Associated Press awards.
* Kevin Stefanski won coach of the year, his second in four years as Browns coach.
* Myles Garrett won defensive player of the year for the first time.
* Jim Schwartz won assistant coach of the year in his first season as Browns defensive coordinator.
* And in perhaps the upset of the evening, quarterback Joe Flacco was named comeback player of the year. He beat out the perceived overwhelming favorite, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who returned to play last season after suffering a cardiac arrest in a game on January 2, 2023.
The awards were voted on by a panel of 50 media members assembled by the AP. Ballots were counted before the playoffs, from which the Browns exited in ignominious fashion, losing, 45-14, to the Houston Texans in an AFC wild-card game.
The clean sweep of the four awards, however, validated a fairy-tale regular season for the Browns.
They won 11 games despite losing franchise running back Nick Chubb in Game 2 and having to play four quarterbacks because of injuries. They were the first team since the 2016 Texans to have four quarterbacks win games in the same season.
That feat probably was the deciding factor in swaying voters to Stefanski over Houston’s DeMeco Ryans, who inherited a 3-13-1 record and led the Texans to the AFC South title with a rookie quarterback at the helm.
In fact, Stefanski and Ryans tied with 165 points in the AP voting. Stefanski won on a tie-breaker with 21 first-place votes to Ryans' 20.
Other finalists were Detroit's Dan Campbell, San Francisco's Kyle Shanahan and Baltimore's John Harbaugh.
“We are so lucky to have Kevin as a leader of our organization,” Browns GM Andrew Berry said in a statement. “What he’s been able to navigate throughout the first four years here has been nothing short of remarkable. Battling all the adversity that we had this season and guiding us to another playoff appearance is just phenomenal.”
Stefanski said, “I’m honored and I could not do this thing by myself. I get incredible support from everyone in this building – our coaches, our players, our staff. I’m so lucky … I’m so blessed.”
Garrett’s DPOY award is an achievement he has coveted since he was drafted first overall by the Browns in 2017.
Statistically, Garrett actually has posted better numbers than his 14 sacks, 16 knockdowns after throws and 30 total quarterback hurries in 2023. He registered only one sack in his last seven games.
But Garrett probably locked up the award with a Herculean game in Indianapolis in October. Garrett strip-sacked Gardner Minshew two times, resulting in Browns touchdowns, and blocked a field goal in a 39-38 win over the Colts. The video of Garrett freakishly leaping over his own line to block Matt Gay’s 60-yard field goal attempt went viral and was a lasting image of his dominance.
The other finalists were Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt, the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby, and Dallas’ Micah Parsons and DaRon Bland.
“He’s as dominant a force as there is in the entire league and we’re so proud,” Berry said.
Schwartz captured the assistant coach of the year award for turning around the Browns defense in his first year as coordinator.
The Browns’ defense led the NFL in total yards allowed (270.2 per game, fewest by a Browns team since 1957), passing yards (164.7), third down percentage (29.1), and first downs (253, which was 45 fewer than the next-best New York Jets).
“What he was able to accomplish in year one with this defensive staff, with these players, was truly historic,” Stefanski said.
Flacco’s comeback player of the year award was a shocker not only because of Hamlin’s inspirational story but also because he only played five games at the end of the season.
But what a five-game stretch it was after sitting out for 11 months at his home in south Jersey waiting for a team to call him. In five games for the Browns, he threw for 1,616 yards and 13 touchdowns (vs. 8 interceptions) and had a passer rating of 90.2.
Flacco, 39, was signed to the Browns’ practice squad on November 20 and succeeded Deshaun Watson, Dorian Thompson-Robinson and P.J. Walker as the starting quarterback with the Browns’ record at 7-4. After a loss to the Rams, Flacco beat the Jaguars, Bears, Texans and Jets, clinching a wild-card spot with his fifth 300-yard /3-touchdown game in the Browns’ final home game.
Besides Hamlin, the other finalists for the award were ex-Browns QB Baker Mayfield of Tampa Bay, the Rams’ Matthew Stafford and Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa.
“From the couch into the starting lineup, it was fun for me to watch and I had a pretty good view of it all,” Stefanski said. “What he was able to do on the field and off the field was really remarkable and I’m so proud of Joe.”
Flacco’s Cinderella run expired in the wild-card game, however. His two interceptions returned for touchdowns in the third quarter sealed the big loss in Houston.
While Flacco and the Browns have expressed the desire for him to return as Watson's backup in 2024, Flacco said he would weigh his options. He'd rather compete for a starting job with another team.