{"id":734017,"date":"2026-02-06T18:47:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T18:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/734017\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T18:47:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T18:47:14","slug":"seahawks-star-wins-offensive-player-of-the-year-with-lower-numbers-than-jamarr-chases-triple-crown-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/734017\/","title":{"rendered":"Seahawks Star Wins Offensive Player Of The Year With Lower Numbers Than Ja’Marr Chase’s Triple Crown Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

CINCINNATI \u2014\u00a0A lot of Bengals fans are not happy about the voting results for Offensive Player of the Year this season compared to the 2024 season.\u00a0Ja’Marr Chase<\/a>\u00a0won the receiving Triple Crown that year as the league leader in receiving yards, touchdowns, and catches, but didn’t receive a single first-place OPOY vote en route to a third-place finish.<\/p>\n

Jaxon Smith-Njigba just won OPOY with 14 first-place votes\u00a0and worse numbers\u00a0overall compared to Chase’s 2024.\u00a0Yet, his team is in the Super Bowl and went 14-3 in the regular season.<\/p>\n

Chase’s team<\/a>\u00a0didn’t make the playoffs at 9-8 across the 2024 season.<\/p>\n

A third-year player, Smith-Njigba led the NFL with a career-high 1,793 receiving yards, the eighth most single-season yards in NFL history. Smith-Njigba set Seahawks records this season in both receiving yards and receptions (119, fourth-most in the NFL). He posted 10 touchdowns as well (sixth)<\/p>\n

Smith-Njigba received 14 first-place votes to beat 49ers running back\u00a0Christian McCaffrey\u00a0(12) and Rams wide receiver\u00a0Puka Nacua\u00a0(eight). Falcons running back\u00a0Bijan Robinson\u00a0(six), Patriots quarterback\u00a0Drake Maye\u00a0(five), Rams quarterback\u00a0Matthew Stafford\u00a0(three), Bills quarterback\u00a0Josh Allen\u00a0(one), and Cardinals tight end\u00a0Trey McBride\u00a0(one) also earned first-place votes.<\/p>\n

Cincinnati’s\u00a0best playmaker led the NFL in receptions (127),\u00a0receiving yards (1,708), and touchdowns (17) in the 2024 season.\u00a0He’s\u00a0just the sixth player in the Super Bowl era to win the Triple Crown, but he still finished behind Saquon Barkley and Lamar Jackson in OPOY voting, largely because the Bengals defense blew too many games in 2024 just like it did in 2025.<\/p>\n

It’s pretty safe to say Chase controlled all he could control in the 2024 OPOY race; he just needed a few more wins to make it happen. It’s curious how some awards clearly get influenced by record, while the 5-12 Browns took home Defensive Player of the Year (Myles Garrett) and Defensive Rookie of the Year (Carson Schwesinger) last night.<\/p>\n

Cincinnati’s top offensive stars figure to be in the mix for these awards next season, if that pesky record can improve into the double digits.<\/p>\n

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