With winning comes recognition, and more of that has arrived for the Detroit Lions with the announcement Thursday of the finalists for the Associated Press NFL Awards.
The Detroit Lions have four finalists in three different categories, as follows:
- Dan Campbell – AP Coach of the Year
- Ben Johnson – AP Assistant Coach of the Year
- Jahmyr Gibbs & Sam LaPorta – AP Offensive Rookie of the Year
There are five finalists in every category and winners will be announced at NFL Honors at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 8 at Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas.
Under the direction of Campbell, the Lions clinched their first division championship since 1993 this season. They won 12 games in the regular season, tied for the most wins ever in a season. The Lions’ 21 wins over the last two seasons establish a new franchise record in any two-season span.
Detroit was 6-3 on the road this season and didn’t lose back-to-back games all year. Campbell has guided the Lions to two playoffs wins the last two weeks, the first time Detroit has hosted multiple playoff games in the same season and won multiple playoff games. He’s only the third coach in team history to win multiple playoff games.
Johnson controls the reigns of one of the most explosive offenses in the league. Detroit threw for at least 4,000 yards and rushed for 2,000 yards for a second consecutive season after Johnson was named offensive coordinator before the 2022 season. Those are the only two times the franchise has ever reached those numbers in the same season.