Ahead of the AFC Championship Game, New England Patriots fans have to be feeling a familiar feeling. There were a handful of down years, but just like that, the Patriots are indeed back.
Just days before potentially stamping their ticket to a Super Bowl, the Patriots saw the fruits of their labor pay off in another way. Even though this is a team game, each year, the NFL hands out several awards on an individual basis.
The Patriots' 2025 campaign was so good, though, that they didn't just see head coach Mike Vrabel and quarterback Drake Maye in the final conversation. No, the Patriots wound up having a whopping five individuals up for NFL awards.
Maye, Vrabel, Josh McDaniels, TreVeyon Henderson and Stefon Diggs are all up for awards.
That's how good this season has been.
Five Patriots individuals are being recognized for their magnificent efforts this season
Maye, of course, is up for the NFL's MVP. But, he's not only a finalist there. He's also a finalist for the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year.
In his second season, Maye finished with 4,394 passing yards, 31 touchdowns and just eight interceptions while completing an astounding 72 percent of his passes. He also added 450 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground for good measure.
Vrabel, obviously, is a finalist for the NFL's Coach of the Year award, and deservedly so. In his first year with the Patriots, Vrabel led his guys to a 14-3 record and AFC East title.
Then, there's McDaniels, who is a finalist for the NFL's Assistant Coach of the Year award -- for obvious reasons.
Meanwhile, Henderson is a finalist for the Offensive Rookie of the Year. His 2025 campaign got off to a slow start, but after taking on a bigger workload, he finished the season with 911 rushing yards and nine touchdowns while adding 221 receiving yards and a score, to give him over 1,000 total yards and 10 touchdowns.
Then, there's Diggs, who is a finalist for this year's Comeback Player of the Year award. After returning from a torn ACL suffered in October of 2024, Diggs finished his first year in New England with 85 recpetions for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns.
All of these guys, in their own right, have earned their way into being a finalist for specific hardware. But, the most important hardware of all is still ahead.