Penei Sewell and three other Detroit Lions earn votes for the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award.

During the 2024 NFL season, four Detroit Lions offensive players were nominated for the AP Offensive Player of the Year award. The Philadelphia Eagles’ Saquon Barkley won the award for a historic season, but the Lions also received recognition for their outstanding offensive performances.

Jahmyr Gibbs leads the Lions’ charge.

Running back Jahmyr Gibbs was the highest-ranked Detroit Lion in the voting, with 21 points. Gibbs’ dynamic playmaking ability and impressive contributions to the offence were recognised, as he finished eighth in the Offensive Player of the Year race. Gibbs, known for his explosive speed and versatility, contributed significantly to the Lions’ offensive success throughout the 2024 season.

Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Penei Sewell also received recognition.

Quarterback Jared Goff also received votes for Offensive Player of the Year, with five points total. Goff had a career-best season, consistently leading the Lions’ high-scoring attack. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and offensive lineman Penei Sewell both received two fifth-place votes, demonstrating the strength of the Lions’ offence as a whole. St. Brown’s outstanding performances, as well as Sewell’s dominant play on the offensive line, contributed significantly to the Lions’ offensive efficiency in 2024.

AP Offensive Player of the Year voting:

Saquon Barkley 35-8-3-3-1: 406
Lamar Jackson 12-7-5-5-3: 183
Ja’Marr Chase 0-25-8-10-2: 171
Derrick Henry 1-2-18-4-10: 92
Joe Burrow 1-5-8-7-5: 78
Josh…

— Rob Maaddi (@RobMaaddi) February 7, 2025

Barkley dominates, but the Lions make their mark.

Saquon Barkley ultimately won the Offensive Player of the Year award, receiving 35 of 50 first-place votes. His outstanding 2,005-yard season with the Eagles left an indelible mark, particularly as he helped lead his team deep into the playoffs. Despite Barkley’s dominance, the fact that four Detroit Lions players received votes highlights the team’s offensive potential and bright future.

As the Lions continue to build around their offensive core, it is clear that this high-powered unit has a bright future, led by players such as Gibbs, Goff, St. Brown, and Sewell.

Trump will be the first president to attend the Super Bowl while in office.

Image caption: Donald Trump will travel to New Orleans, Louisiana, for Sunday’s Super Bowl.Details of the article

This coming weekend, Donald Trump will become the first American president to attend the Super Bowl while in office.

On Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles will play the Kansas City Chiefs at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

On New Year’s Day, a terror attack on Bourbon Street left 14 people dead, leaving the city in ruins.

Trump is in his second term in office after being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States in January.

No sitting president has ever attended the event, despite former presidents like Ronald Reagan tossing the coin from the White House before a game.

“Security measures have been further enhanced this year, given that this will be the first time a sitting president of the United States will attend the event,” revealed Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service.

“The biggest homeland security event that we do every year” is how US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described the Super Bowl earlier this week.

Given his remarks regarding the NFL throughout his political career, Trump’s attendance is probably going to be contentious.

Trump has questioned the patriotism of NFL players who kneel when the US national anthem is played. Trump is a vocal opponent of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

The purpose of the taking of the knee movement was to raise awareness of racial injustice in the US.

In the end zone, Sunday’s Super Bowl will feature a “Choose Love” message instead of the “End Racism” message for the first time in four years.

Trump has criticized nondiscriminatory hiring practices that increase workplace diversity since he took office.

The NFL disputes that the current political atmosphere has anything to do with the decision to take down the banners calling for an end to racism.

“The NFL is in a unique position to capture and lift the imagination of the country,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told AFP, adding that the Super Bowl is frequently a snapshot in time.

“Choose love is appropriate to use as our country has endured in recent weeks wildfires in southern California, the terrorist attack here in New Orleans, the plane and helicopter crash near our nation’s capital and the plane crash in Philadelphia.”

Meanwhile, according to Goodell, the NFL is still totally dedicated to advancing diversity through its inclusive hiring procedures.

“I think we’ve proven to ourselves that it does make the NFL better,” Goodell stated.

“We are not involved in this because it is a trend to enter or exit the market. Our efforts are essential in our pursuit of luring the NFL’s top players, both on and off the field.

The Super Bowl and US presidents

The Super Bowl has grown to be the most anticipated event on the American sports calendar since it began in 1967.

With 123.4 million viewers, last year’s Super Bowl, in which the Kansas City Chiefs defended their title, was the largest US TV broadcast since the moon landing in 1969.

It is hardly surprising that politicians are now more prominent in the event’s staging given its impact on American culture.

In 2017, George Bush became the first former president to personally attend the coin toss prior to Super Bowl 51 in Houston.

President Ronald Reagan conducted the coin toss from the White House via satellite in 1985.

In 2004, former President George W. Bush established a Super Bowl custom by giving the official broadcaster a pre-game interview.

Before he left office in 2025, Joe Biden refused to do an interview for the second consecutive year, although Barack Obama carried on the tradition.