Four Cowboys nominated for NFL Honors including league record setting star

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The playoffs may not have gone as well as expected, but plenty of Dallas Cowboys are being recognized for their exceptional regular seasons.

Four players will be on five of the ballots at the NFL Honors, many of whom set personal bests, NFL records, franchise records or all of the above.

Beginning with the biggest award, here’s a look at each Cowboy nominated, their achievements in 2023, and their chances of winning.

MVP

If you believe in the phrase, “You’re only as good as your last game,” it may have come as a surprise to see Dak Prescott on the MVP ballot.

There’s no denying he and his team were poor in their defeat to Green Bay, but he rarely had an off game in the regular season.

Aside from the debacle in San Francisco, Dak was consistently sharp throughout 2023.

He led the league in touchdown passes (36) while boasting a career-best passer rating of 105.9.

It feels like it’s Lamar Jackson’s award to lose, with the Ravens QB receiving 45 of 50 first-place votes when the Associated Press announced he’d made their First-team All-Pro list.

Prescott apparently made a late push and got votes, though if anything, it might make the final results, likely between Jackson and Christian McCaffrey, a little closer.

No Cowboy quarterback has ever won this award, with former running back Emmitt Smith the only one to take home the honor for Dallas in 1993.

Offensive Player of the Year

Two Cowboys were nominated for this award, which no one in the franchise’s history has ever captured.

Dak, for the reasons already mentioned, is on the shortlist.

It should come as no surprise to see CeeDee Lamb also in with a chance.

Lamb made NFL history with three consecutive games with at least 10 catches and over 150 yards receiving while also breaking Michael Irvin’s single-season franchise record for receptions and receiving yards.

He had a league-high 135 catches and the longest receiving play (92 yards), finishing second behind Tyreek Hill for receiving yards (1,749).

For me, Lamb has a better chance of winning the award than Prescott.

However, I believe they’ll both walk away empty-handed, given that McCaffrey and Jackson are in this category too.

Since 2003, only 10 times has the MVP and Offensive Player of the Year gone to the same person.

I believe it’ll be 11 this year, with Jackson winning and McCaffrey the runner-up.

Defensive Players of the Year

Dallas’ best chance of winning, in my opinion, comes in this category.

For the most part, DaRon Bland had an exceptional sophomore campaign.

The Cowboys’ corner set a league record for pick-sixes (five) and led the league in interceptions (nine) while defending 15 passes and making 69 tackles.

Micah Parsons was a terror on the edge, registering 14 sacks and becoming the first player in franchise history to have double-digits for sacks in each of his first three seasons.

Bland came out of nowhere to make some highlight-reel plays, but he also showed his inexperience and got burned in some encounters.

No Cowboy has won this award since Harvey Martin in 1977.

T.J. Watt led the league in sacks with 19, Maxx Crosby had 14.5, and Myles Garrett wound up with 14.

If they vote based on overall defensive play, Parsons has a strong case; if voters believe one category is more important than the other, I could see Watt or Crosby winning.

The 13th annual NFL Honors takes place on February 8.

For a complete list of all the nominees, click here.