NEW YORK (AP) — Christian McCaffrey is the first player to be a finalist for three AP NFL awards in the same year, joining Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford in the running for The Associated Press 2025 NFL Most Valuable Player award.
McCaffrey and Maye are also finalists for Offensive Player of the Year. McCaffrey and Lawrence are among the finalists for Comeback Player of the Year.
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Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford throws a pass against the Chicago Bears during the first half of an NFL football divisional playoff game Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) stands next to head coach Liam Coen during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Buffalo Bills Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) walks off the field after an NFL divisional playoff football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen throws during the second half of an NFL divisional round playoff football game against the Denver Broncos, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) tries to get past the Seattle Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon during the first half of an NFL football divisional playoff game Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
The winners will be announced at “NFL Honors” on Feb. 5. A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league completed voting before the playoffs began. Votes were tabulated by the accounting firm of Lutz and Carr.
Voters selected a top 5 for the eight AP NFL awards. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second- through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.
Here are the finalists, in alphabetical order, for the eight AP NFL awards:
Allen, the reigning MVP, threw for 3,668 yards, 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, posting a 102.2 passer rating while leading Buffalo to its seventh straight playoff appearance. He also ran for 14 TDs. The Bills were knocked out of the playoffs by Denver in the divisional round and fired coach Sean McDermott.
Lawrence helped Jacksonville win 13 games and the AFC South title. He had 4,007 yards passing, 29 TDs and 12 picks. The Jaguars were eliminated by the Bills in the wild-card round.
McCaffrey, an All-Purpose All-Pro, ran for 1,202 yards and 10 TDs and caught 102 passes for 924 yards and seven TDs. He played a key role in helping the injury-depleted San Francisco 49ers win 12 games.
Maye had 4,394 yards passing, 31 TDs and eight picks to lead the New England Patriots to an AFC East title and an appearance in the AFC championship game on Sunday. Maye led the NFL in passer rating (113.5) and completion percentage (72).
Stafford led the NFL with 4,707 yards passing and 46 TDs. He threw eight picks and finished second to Maye with a 109.2 passer rating. Stafford was first-team All-Pro for the first time in his 17-year career.
Last year, Lamar Jackson was the first-team All-Pro QB but was edged out by Allen for MVP.
Liam Coen led the Jaguars to a 13-4 record and a division title in his first season, a nine-win turnaround for the franchise.
Ben Johnson guided the Chicago Bears to an 11-5 record and their first NFC North championship in seven seasons.
Mike Macdonald led the Seattle Seahawks to a 14-3 record and the NFC’s No. 1 seed. The Seahawks host the Rams in the NFC championship game on Sunday.
Kyle Shanahan guided the 49ers to 12 wins despite a slew of injuries to key players, including losing defensive stars Nick Bosa and Fred Warner for the season.
Mike Vrabel, the 2021 AP NFL Coach of the Year, took the Patriots from worst to first, a 10-win turnaround in his first season with the team.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels are the finalists.
Lawrence, McCaffrey, Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs, Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott are the finalists.
All-Pro edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. had 12 sacks for the Houston Texans and was a major part of the NFL’s No. 1 ranked defense.
Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto had 14 sacks for the league’s second-ranked defense.
Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett, a unanimous choice for All-Pro, set a single-season record with 23 sacks and had 33 tackles for loss. He was the 2023 AP Defensive Player of the Year.
Lions edge rusher Hutchinson had 14 1/2 sacks.
All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons had 12 1/2 sacks in 13 1/2 games before tearing his ACL in his first season in Green Bay.
Puka Nacua, Bijan Robinson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba join Maye and McCaffrey as finalists.
Nacua and Smith-Njigba were unanimous selections for All-Pro.
Nacua led the NFL with 129 catches for 1,715 yards and 10 TDs for the Rams. Smith-Njigba caught 119 passes and led the league with 1,793 yards receiving and had 10 TDs.
Robinson, who was All-Pro running back, led the NFL with 2,298 yards from scrimmage. He ran for 1,478 yards and seven TDs and caught 79 passes for 820 yards and four scores.
Giants edge rusher Abdul Carter, Seahawks defensive back Nick Emmanwori, Falcons edge rusher James Pearce Jr., Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger and Falcons safety Xavier Watts are the finalists.
Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson, Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and Saints quarterback Tyler Shough are the finalists.
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Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford throws a pass against the Chicago Bears during the first half of an NFL football divisional playoff game Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) stands next to head coach Liam Coen during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Buffalo Bills Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) walks off the field after an NFL divisional playoff football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen throws during the second half of an NFL divisional round playoff football game against the Denver Broncos, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) tries to get past the Seattle Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon during the first half of an NFL football divisional playoff game Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Republican lawmakers are poised to grill former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith at an open hearing, focusing fresh attention on two criminal investigations that shadowed Donald Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign.
Smith testified behind closed doors last month. Thursday's House Judiciary Committee hearing is likely to feature starkly partisan questioning, as Republicans try to undermine the former Justice Department official and Democrats seek to elicit new and damaging testimony about Trump’s conduct.
Smith is standing by his decision as special counsel to bring charges accusing Trump of conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden and hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
In Switzerland, Trump inaugurated his “ Board of Peace ” to lead efforts at maintaining a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas, insisting that “everyone wants to be a part” of the body that could eventually rival the United Nations — despite many U.S. allies opting not to participate. Follow live updates from Davos.
The House Oversight Committee meanwhile advanced resolutions to hold former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress over the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, opening the prospect of the House using one of its most powerful punishments against a former president for the first time.
And Federal immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to forcibly enter people’s homes without a judge’s warrant, according to an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press, marking a sharp reversal of longstanding guidance meant to respect constitutional limits on government searches.
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Federal prosecutors were stunned when immigration authorities allowed a suspect in a $100 million jewelry heist to deport himself to South America last month as they prepared for his trial.
Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores was one of seven people charged last year with stealing the jewels from a Brink’s truck at a rest stop north of Los Angeles in 2022. He faced up to 15 years in federal prison if convicted in what’s believed to be the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history.
Instead, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported him to Ecuador after he requested voluntary departure.
Flores lawyer wants the case dismissed. Prosecutors asked a judge to keep the charges pending. The jewelers who lost millions of dollars worth of diamonds, emeralds, gold, rubies and designer watches want answers. ICE didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
A report issued Thursday by the Council on Criminal Justice is showing a 21% decrease in the homicide rate from 2024 to 2025, based on data collected from 35 American cities. That’s about 922 fewer homicides last year amid decreases in 31 of the cities studied.
Elected officials at all levels — both Democrats and Republicans — have been claiming credit for the steep declines. But experts say the trends are so widespread that local decisions aren’t likely responsible. Republicans have rushed to credit tough-on-crime moves like deploying the National Guard and surging immigration agents. But the data show that cities with no surges of troops or agents saw similar historic drops in crime.
The council’s CEO and president, Adam Gelb, says “it’s a dramatic drop to an absolutely astonishing level,” but “there’s never one reason crime goes up or down.”
▶ Read more about drops in crime across the United States
A judge on Wednesday threw out the boundaries of the only congressional district in New York City represented by a Republican, ordering the state to redraw its borders because its current composition unconstitutionally dilutes the votes of Black and Hispanic residents.
Justice Jeffrey Pearlman said Republican U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis' district, which includes all of the borough of Staten Island and a small piece of Brooklyn, should be reconfigured before this year’s midterm elections. Republicans are expected to appeal as this new front opens in national gerrymandering that has both political parties fighting to control the U.S. House.
Lawmakers in about a third of states have considered redrawing their congressional districts after Trump pushed Republicans to craft new lines to help them hold onto their narrow House majority. Democrats have countered with their own redistricting efforts, at times hampered by laws they had passed intended to prevent partisan gerrymandering.
▶ Read more about the ruling
A House committee advanced resolutions Wednesday to hold former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress over the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, opening the prospect of the House using one of its most powerful punishments against a former president for the first time.
In bipartisan votes, the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee approved the contempt of Congress charges, setting up potential votes in the House early next month. In a rare departure from party lines, some Democrats supported the contempt measures against the Clintons, with several progressive lawmakers emphasizing the need for full transparency in the Epstein investigation.
The repercussions of contempt charges loomed large, given the possibility of a substantial fine and even incarceration. Still, there were signs of a potential thaw as the Clintons appeared to be searching for an off-ramp to testify. In addition, passage of contempt charges through the full House was far from guaranteed, requiring a majority vote — something Republicans increasingly struggle to achieve.
▶ Read more about the Oversight Committee’s vote
Denmark’s prime minister insisted that her country can’t negotiate on its sovereignty on Thursday after Trump said he agreed on a “framework of a future deal” on Arctic security with the head of NATO. And NATO said its secretary general, Mark Rutte, hadn’t proposed any compromise to Danish sovereignty.
Trump on Wednesday abruptly scrapped the tariffs he had threatened to impose on eight European nations to press for U.S. control over Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark. It was a dramatic reversal hours after he insisted he wanted to get the island “including right, title and ownership” — though he also said he would not use force.
He said “additional discussions” on Greenland were being held concerning the Golden Dome, a multilayered, $175 billion missile system that for the first time will put U.S. weapons in space. Trump offered few details, saying they were still being worked out.
▶ Read more about Denmark’s reaction
Trump on Thursday inaugurated his “ Board of Peace ” to lead efforts at maintaining a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas, insisting that “everyone wants to be a part” of the body that could eventually rival the United Nations — despite many U.S. allies opting not to participate.
In his speech at the World Economic Forum, Trump sought to create momentum for a project to map out a future of the war-torn Gaza Strip that has been overshadowed by his threats to seize Greenland, and then by his dramatic retreat from that push.
“This isn’t the United States, this is for the world,” he said, adding, “I think we can spread it out to other things as we succeed in Gaza.”
The new peace board was initially envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the ceasefire, but has morphed into something far more ambitious — and skepticism about its membership and mandate has led some countries usually closest to Washington take a pass.
▶ Read more about the Board of Peace
Republican lawmakers are poised to grill former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday at a congressional hearing that’s expected to focus fresh attention on two criminal investigations that shadowed Donald Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign.
Smith testified behind closed doors last month but returns to the House Judiciary Committee for a public hearing likely to divide along starkly partisan lines between Republican lawmakers looking to undermine the former Justice Department official and Democrats hoping to elicit new and damaging testimony about Trump’s conduct.
Smith will tell lawmakers that he stands behind his decision as special counsel to bring charges against Trump in separate cases accusing the Republican of conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden and hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
▶ Read more about Smith’s testimony
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he climbs a staircase after a signing ceremony of his Board of Peace initiative at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)
U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino walks with Federal agents outside a convenience store on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
