New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - On the eve of his third Super Bowl appearance, Peyton Manning was honored with two major NFL awards, including being named the league's Most Valuable Player for an unprecedented fifth time.
The 37-year-old Manning, who will lead the Denver Broncos against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII Sunday in East Rutherford, NJ, was also named the Offensive Player of the Year for a second time.
The MVP voting totals released Saturday from the Associated Press resulted in a near unanimous decision. Manning received 49 of 50 votes to run away with the honor. New England QB Tom Brady got the other vote.
Manning broke NFL marks by throwing for 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns. He also helped the Broncos set a league record by scoring 606 points in the regular season. Denver, which finished with the best record in the AFC at 13-3, faces the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl Sunday.
The 13-time Pro Bowl selection completed 450-of-659 passes, had just 10 interceptions all season and finished with a QB rating of 115.1. He tied an NFL record by throwing for seven TD passes in the season opener against Baltimore.
The other times Manning won MVPs came with the Colts in 2003, '04, '08 and '09. He finished second in voting to Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson last year.
While Manning's MVPs are a record in the NFL, they are not an all-time mark among the four major sports. Wayne Gretzky has nine MVPs in the NHL and Barry Bonds seven in Major League Baseball. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has six in the NBA.
It's been an amazing two seasons for Manning since his return from having neck surgery in May 2011. In 2012, he was named the Comeback Player of the Year, an accolade taken this year by San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers.
Rivers engineered an improbable run for the Chargers into the playoffs, as they won their final four regular season games. He topped the NFL with a team- record 69.5 completion percentage and ended 378-of-544 through the air for 4,478 yards and 32 touchdowns against only 11 interceptions.
Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy and New York Jets tackle Sheldon Richardson were named the Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year, respectively.
Lacy, a second-round draft pick out of Alabama, rushed for 1,178 yards on 284 carries with 11 touchdowns. He also had 35 receptions for 257 yards and was a key to helping the Packers weather the storm when star quarterback Aaron Rodgers went down with an injury in the middle of the season.
Richardson, a first-round selection from Missouri, had 3 1/2 sacks while playing in all 16 games (15 starts) for the Jets. He compiled 42 tackles.
Carolina's Ron Rivera, who was signed to a three-year contract extension earlier this week, was named Coach of the Year. Carolina, behind quarterback Cam Newton, went 12-4 and won the NFC South in Rivera's third season at the helm.
Rivera received 21 1/2 votes to beat out Kansas City's Andy Reid (13 1/2).
Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly was named the Defensive Player of the Year.
Chicago Bears defensive back Charles Tillman was honored as the 2013 NFL Man of the Year for his off-the-field community service as well as his playing excellence.
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/LmUtQw
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