Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the MVP of the 2014 season.
Rodgers, who also won the award in 2011, was one of three two-time winners in voting results revealed at the “NFL Honors” on Saturday night in Phoenix.
Bruce Arians of the Arizona Cardinals was named coach of the year for the second time and Houston Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt was selected defensive player of the year for the second time as well.
Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray was voted offensive player of the year, New York Giants rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was named offensive rookie and St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald was voted defensive rookie.
New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was named comeback player of the year.
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Todd Bowles, Arians’ former defensive coordinator in Arizona, was selected assistant coach of the year. Bowles recently became coach of the New York Jets.
All awards were the results of voting by Associated Press members.
Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis received the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.
Rodgers received 31 of the 50 votes for MVP. Watt finished second with 13 votes, Murray and Dallas quarterback Tony Romo each received two votes, and New England quarterback Tom Brady and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner each had one.
Rodgers’ numbers were not quite as good as his 2011 MVP season, but they still were stellar. He completed 65.6 percent of his passes for 4,381 yards, 38 touchdowns and just five interceptions. His passer rating (112.2) and yards per attempt (8.43) were second only to Romo’s 113.2 and 8.52.
Arians led the Cardinals to consecutive 10-win seasons for the first time since 1974-76, when they were still in St. Louis.
Arians also was named coach of the year after the 2012 season when he stepped in for an ill coach Chuck Pagano and led the Indianapolis Colts to an 11-5 record and a playoff berth.
Like Arians, Watt won for the second time in three seasons. He is the seventh player in NFL history to win the award twice.
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Watt finished with 20 1/2 sacks, becoming the first player with 20 in two seasons since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.
Murray led the NFL with 1,845 rushing yards and scored 13 touchdowns as he helped the Cowboys win a playoff game for the first time since 2009. He also caught 57 passes for 416 yards.
Murray’s best season in Dallas might have been his last; he will be a free agent in March and the Cowboys might not be able to re-sign him.
A lot of the credit for his season goes to an offensive line that included three recent first-round picks. Left guard Zack Martin, previously named an All-Pro, finished second in offensive rookie voting to Beckham.
Despite missing the first four games of the season with a hamstring injury, Beckham outperformed a star-studded rookie class of receivers. The No. 12 overall pick in the 2014 draft caught 91 passes for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Tampa Bay rookie receiver Mike Evans finished third in voting.
Donald, the Rams’ first-round pick last year, finished with nine sacks and was a beast against the run on a dominant defensive line that includes Robert Quinn, Chris Long and Michael Brockers. He played in the Pro Bowl last Sunday.
Gronkowski was the overwhelming choice as comeback player with 27 votes. Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin and Dallas linebacker Rolando McClain each received seven votes.
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Gronkowski came back from a torn ACL suffered late in the 2013 season to post his best campaign since 2011. He caught 82 passes for 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns.
