The race for NFL Comeback Player of the Year has been heavily debated over the last few weeks, with many mulling over whether Damar Hamlin fits the bill to win.
Who Is Going To Win NFL Comeback Player Of The Year?
Favorite: DB Damar Hamlin (Buffalo Bills, 11-6)
Damar Hamlin’s miraculous return to the playing field sees him sit at the top of the Comeback Player of the Year ladder, despite playing just five games all year with 16 defensive snaps – recording two tackles.
During a Monday Night Football clash with the Cincinnati Bengals just over a year ago, Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle and he was quickly rushed to hospital in critical condition.
The game was abandoned and nine days after the incident, he was discharged to rehabilitate from his home. Hamlin made a full recovery and has continued his career as normal.
It’ll be interesting to see how this vote turns out because football wise, Hamlin probably shouldn’t stand a chance at this award and it has a different meaning – but he undoubtedly owns the best comeback of the year.
It’s very close between the top two and it could easily go either way, but Hamlin is likely to claim the spoils after an emotional season.
Strong Candidate: QB Joe Flacco (Cleveland Browns, 11-6)
Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco also has a very strong case for the award. He wasn’t even on an NFL team until November 20, before a season-ending injury to Deshaun Watson meant the position opened up for him.
He went 4-1 as a starter, guiding the Browns to a Wild Card playoff spot – throwing for 1,616 yards in five games (an average of 323.2) but he was intercepted a less than ideal eight times.
As the team’s fourth starting quarterback of the year, Flacco chipped in with 13 touchdowns to give the Browns a favourable Wild Card clash against the Houston Texans to begin the postseason.
He played just five games and still managed to record as many 300-yard passing games as Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen – including more than MVP favorite Lamar Jackson.
Flacco tallied over 1,600 yards and 13 touchdowns in December, joining Mahomes, Peyton Manning and Jim Kelly as the only other quarterbacks in NFL history to do so.
Weak Candidate: QB Baker Mayfield (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 9-8)
Baker Mayfield led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a franchise record third consecutive division title, topping the AFC South to set up a home clash against last year’s Super Bowl runner-up Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round.
Mayfield played his best football to date and clinched a $1m financial incentive to reach the playoffs, an impressive feat considering Tampa Bay had the worst odds of all NFC South teams to win the division.
Finishing the season with 28 touchdowns, ten interceptions, 4,044 passing yards with a 64.4% completion rate, Mayfield entered Week 18 ranking fourth in touchdown passes as well as ninth in both passer rating and passing yards.
He led the Bucs to a better record than what Tom Brady managed last year, with an offense that ranked among the worst in the league – second-last in rushing yards and last in yards per attempt.
He signed a one-year $4m deal before the start of the season but looks set to be locked in this position for the future and Tampa Bay can look at drafting elsewhere in the 2024 NFL Draft.
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