For the second straight year, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was named AP NFL Most Valuable Player.

The award marks the fourth of his 17-year career, as he also won for his play in the 2011, 2014 and 2020 seasons.

Rodgers finished the 2021 season throwing for 4,115 yards, 37 touchdowns, and four interceptions while leading the Packers to the top seed in the NFC with a 13-4 record. The Packers would go on to lose in the NFC Divisional Round to the San Francisco 49ers.

The 38-year-old has played his entire career in Green Bay and won Super Bowl XLV in 2011, where he was named the game’s most valuable player.

Rodgers said, “It’s been an amazing 17 years. So thankful for the memories and the moments over the years.”

The Houston Texans have officially named Lovie Smith as their next head coach.

Smith is no stranger to the NFL or the Texans, having previously served as the Chicago Bears head coach from 2004 to 2012 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2014 to 2015. This past season, Smith, a Texas native, served as the Texans’ associate head coach and defensive coordinator.

In 2005, the 63-year-old was named AP Coach of the Year.

His hiring comes after the Texans fired former head coach David Culley last month after just one season.

Smith’s hiring also comes after the Miami Dolphins fired former head coach Brian Flores. Flores, 40, is now suing the league and three teams for racist practices in hiring.

According to ESPN, the Texans interviewed Flores and five other candidates in addition to Smith for the job.

Smith and Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin are now the only two Black head coaches currently in the league.

With their backs against the wall late in the fourth quarter, the Los Angeles Rams turned to the connection that spearheaded their offensive attack all year. Matthew Stafford targeted Cooper Kupp six times on the eventual game-winning drive with the duo linking up one final time for a 1-yard touchdown go cap a 15-play, 79-yard trek and take a 23-20 lead over the Cincinnati Bengals with 1:25 to play. Ultimately, that margin held as the Rams claimed victory in Super Bowl LVI and captured the second Lombardi Trophy in franchise history.

Overcoming two Stafford interceptions and a controversial Cincinnati touchdown to start the third quarter, Los Angeles became just the second team in NFL history to win a Super Bowl on their home field, SoFi Stadium. The previously unachieved feat has now been accomplished in consecutive seasons.

The Rams were led by an uneven but gutty effort from Stafford, who completed 26 of 40 passes for 283 yards with those two picks, and Kupp, who caught eight passes for 92 yards and two of those three scores en route to MVP honors. Stafford’s first touchdown of the game went to Odell Beckham Jr., who left the contest in the second quarter due to a non-contact knee injury and never returned.