NFL Honors 2019: TV Schedule, Live Stream, Awards Odds and Predictions

The Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots will play in Super Bowl LIII on Sunday, but on Saturday night, the 8th Annual NFL Honors will take place. As fierce competitors, NFL players may view the awards as consolation prizes, but NFL Honors represents one last nod to stellar individual play throughout the 2018 NFL regular season.

Last year's Associated Press Most Valuable Player, Patriots quarterback and future Hall of Famer Tom Brady, will be playing for his sixth ring against the Rams in Atlanta on Sunday night. The Rams are coached by 33-year-old Sean McVay, who can become the youngest coach to ever win a Super Bowl and is in contention to be named AP Coach of the Year.

Rams defensive end Aaron Donald will line up opposite Brady. With 20.5 sacks on the season, Donald is viewed as an unofficial favorite to land AP Defensive Player of the Year—an award he took home at last year's NFL Honors and one he has been awarded already for this season by PFWA. 

Awards for the remaining categories are expected to be claimed by players other than Rams and Patriots.

For example, the top name floated around to take home AP Comeback Player of the Year is Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, who missed all of 2017 with a lingering shoulder injury and has already been named PFWA Comeback Player of the Year.

Below is a look at odds for four of the major categories, television and live stream information as well as predictions. NFL Honors will be hosted by Steve Harvey at Fox Theatre in Atlanta. 

TV Schedule and Live Stream

Date: Saturday, Feb. 2

Time: 9 p.m. ET

TV: CBS

Live Stream: CBS All Access 

Award Odds

Most Valuable Player 

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (-250, bet $250 to win $100)

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (+170, bet $100 to win $170)

Offensive Rookie of the Year

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (-220)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (+175) 

Defensive Rookie of the Year

Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard (-155)

Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James (+170)

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch (+500)

Denver Broncos EDGE Bradley Chubb (+1600)

Coach of the Year

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy (EVEN)

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton (+250)

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay (+475)

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn (+475)

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid (+475)

Predictions

AP Most Valuable Player 

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

As the regular season drew to a close and Super Bowl contention ended for both Kansas City and New Orleans, Chiefs first-year starter Patrick Mahomes emerged as the favorite to take home the league MVP. 

The preference is not a slight to Brees, who became the NFL's all-time passing leader this season and has not won the AP MVP award in any of his 18 seasons, but rather a testament to just how dominantly Mahomes came onto the scene. 

Mahomes led the Chiefs to their third consecutive AFC West title and the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC to the tune of 5,097 passing yards, 50 passing touchdowns and 12 interceptions. The 23-year-old became just the second player in NFL history to toss at least 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns through the air in the same season.

The numbers speak for themselves, but it is Mahomes' unprecedented playmaking ability that made him the talk of the league. Side-arm, left-handed, no-look, on the ground: name it, and it is likely that Mahomes could do it. 

After the Patriots defeated Kansas City in the AFC Championship Game—despite Mahomes bringing the Chiefs back from a dismal first half to force overtime—Mahomes participated in the Pro Bowl and won MVP in Orlando. 

Additionally, Mahomes has already been named the PFWA MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in January—he is the first Chiefs player to ever win either award. 

AP Offensive Rookie of the Year

Kirk Irwin/Getty Images

Strong arguments can be made for both Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield and Giants running back Saquon Barkley. Ultimately, though, it's how Mayfield's individual performance enhanced the franchise around him that should propel him over Barkley.

Even with Barkley contributing over 2,000 total yards from the backfield—becoming just the third rookie in NFL history to hit the 2,000-yard mark from scrimmage—the Giants stumbled to a 5-11 finish and found themselves ranked No. 17 overall in total offense. 

In Cleveland, Mayfield stepped in under center midway through the Browns' Week 3 game against the New York Jets. The No. 1 overall pick instantly jolted the Browns to their first win in 635 days. On the season, Mayfield threw for 3,725 yards and 27 touchdowns en route to the Browns finishing 7-8-1—and before an upset win in November, waking up "feeling dangerous." 

ESPN's Seth Wickersham dove into the perceived dysfunction within the Browns organization and highlighted Mayfield as perhaps the sole reason for hope in the future: 

"Mayfield was a vision in the final game of his rookie year, throwing for 376 yards and three touchdowns. He is the main reason the head-coaching job of the Browns, for the first time in Haslam's tenure, has become a coveted position."

It is Mayfield's ability to make Cleveland an exciting and desirable franchise that lifts him above Barkley, who as a running back can't do the same for the downtrodden Giants—to no fault of his own.

NFL fans seem to disagree with Mayfield being the favorite as Barkley was voted the Pepsi Rookie of the Year on Thursday, which is an award decided only by public online vote.

AP Defensive Rookie of the Year

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Each of the four listed favorites, according to Sports Betting Dime, made a palpable impact for his team. All but Indy's Darius Leonard (No. 36 overall) were selected in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft—and for good reason.

The betting favorite is Leonard, who broke the Colts' franchise record for tackles in a single season (163 total, 111 solo) and led the NFL in tackles for the regular season.

Bradley Chubb, Derwin James and Leighton Vander Esch also broke records. 

Chubb, selected by Denver No. 5 overall out of NC State, finished with 12 sacks. His 12 sacks set a new Broncos' rookie sack record. Alongside Von Miller, Chubb will wreak havoc for the foreseeable future.

In Dallas, Vander Esch had to step in to start for an injured veteran Sean Lee in Week 4. Dallas did not look back, and it is doubtful that Lee will start for the Cowboys again given how Vander Esch performed. The first-round pick out of Boise State led the Cowboys defense and set the franchise rookie record for tackles in a season with 176 tackles.

Not for nothing: Vander Esch's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month award in November marked the first Cowboy to win the honor since DeMarcus Ware in 2005. Vander Esch also appeared at his first Pro Bowl last weekend after the Cowboys were ousted in the divisional round at the hands of the Rams.

Then, there's James. James, drafted 17th overall out of Florida State, was named as one of the NFL's most versatile players by Pro Football Focus. A chart made by PFF shows for how many snaps James lined up at different positions throughout the season. The safety spent 205 snaps on the edge, 166 in the slot, 22 as a wide corner, 418 in the box and 216 at deep safety.

Even while handling so many different techniques, James graded out as PFF's fourth-highest safety and was named PFF Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Even so, the consistent productivity by Leonard is hard to argue with historically. The last time a linebacker took home the award was in 2012, with Panthers phenomenon Luke Kuechly. In that season, Kuechly accumulated 164 tackles, eight passes defended, 12 tackles for loss, one quarterback hit and one sack.

Comparatively, Leonard is right there with 163 tackles (as mentioned above), 12 tackles for loss, eight quarterback hits, seven sacks, four forced fumbles and two picks.

Any of these four would be deserving of the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, but Leonard is the betting favorite for a reason