As we near the grand finale of the NFL's 2023 season, finalists for the Associated Press end of year awards have been announced, and the San Francisco 49ers will be represented in four of AP's awards categories. A total of five finalists are selected for each award, and winners are revealed at NFL Honors in the week leading up to the Super Bowl.
Running back Christian McCaffrey and quarterback Brock Purdy were both named finalists for the AP Most Valuable Player presented by Invisalign. Head coach Kyle Shanahan is amongst the top five for the AP Coach of the Year presented by Verizon, and McCaffrey is also in the running for AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year presented by Microsoft Surface.
McCaffrey closed out the regular season as the NFL rushing yards leader (1,459) and the scrimmage triple crown winner (leader in touches, touchdowns and yards) on his way to Pro Bowl and unanimous First-Team All-Pro honors in 2023. Over the course of the year, McCaffrey racked up five FedEx Ground Player of the Week awards, two NFC Player of the Week and two NFC Offensive Player of the Month accolades.
Purdy led the 49ers back to the NFC conference championship for a second-straight season and finished as one of the top statistical quarterbacks of 2023. Over the course of his 16 regular season starts, the second-year quarterback led the league in passing yards per attempt (9.6) and in passer rating (113). Purdy also owns the franchise single-season passing record with 4,280 yards, surpassing quarterback Jeff Garcia's previous record by two yards in 17 regular season starts.
Shanahan is in his seventh season with San Francisco and on the way to his fourth NFC Championship Game appearance over the last five seasons. With the 49ers most recent win over the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round, he improves to 7-3 in the postseason, giving Shanahan the fifth-highest win percentage by a head coach in NFL history. Shanahan is a back-to-back AP Coach of the Year finalist after finishing in second place in the voting at the end of last season.
The prime time awards special that recognizes the NFL's best players, performances and plays from the 2023 season will air live at 6 p.m. PT on the CBS and NFL Network and stream on Paramount+ and NFL+.
