For the first time in the 45 years of the NFL 101 committee naming an AFC Offensive Player of the Year, there will be co-winners for the prestigious award.
Those co-winners are the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le’Veon Bell.
For both Brown and Bell, this award caps off a historic season for each player, as both were not only selected for the Pro-Bowl, the Steeler standouts were also honored as first team All-Pro selections.
Brown had one of the best seasons in NFL history at his position, and led the league in catches (129) and yards (1,698) with 13 touchdowns. Bell was arguably the best player in the league in 2014, as he had an incredible total of 2,215 total yards from scrimmage for the season. The second-year Michigan State product led the AFC in rushing with 1,361 yards, and added 83 catches for an additional 854 yards.
Brown and Bell were able to beat out a number of outstanding performers for the award, including the Patriots Tom Brady, the Broncos Peyton Manning, and the Colts quarterback and wide receiver combo of Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton.
Other players and coaches who will receive awards at the February 28th ceremony in Kansas City are the Texans JJ Watt (AFC Defensive POTY) the Packers Aaron Rodgers (NFC Offensive POTY), Seahawks defensive back Richard Sherman (NFC Defensive POTY) along with the Patriots Bill Belicheck and the Cardinals Bruce Arians who were named coaches of the year for their respective conferences.
