The Associated Press will hand out its individual NFL awards o

n the night before the Super Bowl in Minneapolis. Until then Black Keanu Neal Jersey , here are some off-the-beaten track honors to consider. — BEST GAME: Patriots 27, Steelers 24. It was ballyhooed for weeks, and in most ways it lived up to the billing. Seesaw contest matching the AFC’s best teams (by far), filled with big plays and controversy – don’t ask Steelers fans about the ”catch rule.” That Pittsburgh nearly won without Antonio Brown, probably the NFL’s best player, was a testament to the Steelers’ grit. But Ben Roethlisberger throwing an interception in the end zone at the end could be the most damaging play for one team. Runners-up: Seahawks 41, Texans 38; Raiders 31, Chiefs 30. — WORST GAME: Lots of candidates here. You would think the Browns, at 0-15, would have a lock, but their main stinker is a runner-up to Buffalo’s 9-3 loss to Carolina in Week 2. Even the game’s broadcasters seemed to be yawning their way through the ”action.” Runners-up: Titans 12, Browns 9, which at least had some cachet because it went to overtime; Bears 33, Bengals 27, when Cincinnati didn’t show up; Broncos 23, Jets 0, when New York didn’t show up. — BEST GAME SCENE (special award): Buffalo’s home win in the snow vs. Indianapolis . Punts landing and sticking in the snow. The inability to see across the field because the snow fell so hard. Little semblance of a passing game. More than 2 inches of snow crusting the field. And a fan base that celebrated by making snowmen in the stands. Give us more of that! — BEST PLAY OF THE YEAR: Tyreek Hill vs. Cowboys. The Kansas City receiver, as dangerous as anyone in the league when he has the ball, took a short pass from Alex Smith at the end of the first half and weaved through pretty much the entire Dallas defense to somehow beat the prevent D for a touchdown. Runners-up: Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore’s interception vs. the Falcons in Week 16. If you recall Julian Edelman’s sensational grab in the Super Bowl in February, also victimizing Atlanta, this one was similarly magical. And don’t forget – how could you if you saw it? – DeAndre Hopkins tapping the ball with his right hand to himself over a Pittsburgh defender in the end zone, then grabbing the ball with the left hand as he barely came down inbounds. — WORST PLAY OF THE YEAR: Seattle opted against a 35-yard field goal attempt by Blair Walsh at the end of the first half against Atlanta, even though the kick would have pulled the Seahawks within 24-20. Instead Womens Calvin Ridley Jersey , holder Jon Ryan completed a shovel pass to tight end Luke Willson, but Grady Jarrett read the play and tackled Willson for a 4-yard loss. The Seahawks lost the game, giving the Falcons a key tiebreaker edge for a playoff berth. Runners-up: Marcus Cooper’s showboating at the end of a blocked kick that should have been a touchdown, turned into a touchback. Leon Lett II. — BEST COACHING MOVE: In a victory that set them up for a superb season, the Eagles positioned unheralded kicker Jake Elliott, new to the team, for a potential winning field goal. Doug Pederson showed faith in the rookie, who nailed a 61-yarder for the first of nine consecutive wins. Runners-up: Mike Zimmer sticking with Case Keenum as his quarterback; coaches who entrusted their running game to rookies. — WORST COACHING MOVE: Has to be a tie here, though one move cost a coach his job. Ben McAdoo benched Giants icon Eli Manning and somehow management was on board. The backlash was loud and nasty, and a week later, it was McAdoo who was out as coach. Manning was back behind center, too. At the Chargers in November, Bills coach Sean McDermott benched starting QB Tyrod Taylor in favor of rookie Nate Peterman. The kid was in way too deep: Peterman threw five interceptions in the first half. IN THE FIRST HALF! Runner-up: Denver’s Vance Joseph insisting on sticking with Isaiah McKenzie as his punt returner. Results included fumbling six times, including a punt for a safety against Miami. — MOST IMPROVED PLAYER (OFFENSE): Adam Thielen, Vikings. The Minnesota State product began his breakout last season. This year, he’s moved into the elite level peopled by the likes of Antonio Brown and Julio Jones. Runners-up: QBs Carson Wentz, Eagles, Case Keenum, Vikings, and Jared Goff, Rams; RB Alex Collins, Ravens; WRs Nelson Agholor, Eagles Calvin Ridley Jersey White , and Robby Anderson, Jets. — MOST IMPROVED PLAYER (DEFENSE): DeMarcus Lawrence, Cowboys. Dallas has pegged him as its next great pass rusher, and he came through in style this season with 14+ sacks. He’s the kind of player to build a defensive line around. Runners-up: Jaguars DE Yannick Ngakoue, who somehow didn’t get voted to the Pro Bowl; teammate CB Jalen Ramsey; Titans safety Kevin Byard, also a non-Pro Bowler. — BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT (PLAYER): Amari Cooper topped 1,000 yards receiving in his first two seasons with the Raiders and appeared poised for a breakout season. But the drops that plagued Cooper early in his career returned, and outside of a 210-yard game against Kansas City in October, Cooper provided little. Runner-up: Texans linebacker Brian Cushing for yet another suspension (10 games) for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancers policy. — BIGGEST SURPRISE (TEAM): Take your choice among these 2016 tailenders that soared: Eagles, Rams, Jaguars, Saints. We’ll go with Jacksonville, where a culture change was needed as well as an improved roster and better performances. The Jags got all of that . — BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT (TEAM): So many, but the Giants, uh, top this list. After making the playoffs under first-year coach Ben McAdoo, led by a staunch defense, they turned into a sieve. Too much tumult, and soon they were contending for a super-high draft choice, McAdoo and GM Jerry Reese were canned. Runners-up: Raiders, Buccaneers, Packers, Cowboys https://www.falconslockerroom.com/authentic-calvin-ridley-jersey , Broncos. — BEST PLAY-BY-PLAY ANNOUNCER: Splitting this into two sections, TV and radio. With the always-prepared and often-opinionated (but fairly) Mike Tirico back in a pretty regular gig on NBC, he grabs this honor once more. Tirico is the epitome of a professional play-by-play man and a rare voice who brings some journalistic chops to the job. Our radio voice, also an oft-repeater, is Kevin Harlan. He also does CBS games on Sunday, but his work on Monday nights is perfection. Driving in your car, listening on your mobile device, whatever – Harlan is the man. Runners-up: Ian Eagle (CBS), Spero Dedes (CBS), Sean McDonough (ESPN), Kenny Albert (Fox). — BEST ANALYST: Another repeater. Hall of Fame wide receiver James Lofton, now ensconced at CBS, brings humor and insight to the role. Few former players present as well-rounded an analysis, and even when Lofton seems headed on a tangent, he brings the viewers right back where they want to be. Runners-up: Troy Aikman (Fox), Rich Gannon (CBS), Dan Fouts (CBS), Tony Romo (CBS). — FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons are mostly healthy and don’t want to risk getting an important player injured when they close out the preseason this week.Coach Dan Quinn wouldn’t say so for certain, but it’s unlikely the Falcons will play any starters or key backups Thursday against Miami. The depth chart is nearly full, so Quinn and his staff will use the exhibition to evaluate the last available spots on the 53-man roster.“There will be some who are competing to be practice squad and developmental and some still battling for the 53,” Quinn said Monday. “The goal is also if it’s not here, it’s somewhere Womens Takkarist McKinley Jersey , so those guys can put out tapes to get other opportunities.”Atlanta opens the regular season Sept. 6 at Philadelphia, the defending Super Bowl champion that knocked the favored Falcons out of the playoffs seven months ago. Quinn wants to keep everyone as healthy as possible.Star receiver Julio Jones and running back Devonta Freeman have been held out of all the preseason games for precautionary reasons given their injury histories, but neither has missed practice.Linebacker Deion Jones, cornerback Desmond Trufant, and free safety Ricardo Allen were nicked up in earlier exhibitions and didn’t dress for last week’s preseason loss at Jacksonville.Quinn sees plenty of areas for the Falcons to clean up. Against the Jaguars, the first-team offense failed to convert its five chances on third down and allowed Matt Ryan to get sacked twice.The first-team defense wasn’t stout enough against the run and gave up Leonard Fournette’s 21-yard score.“I thought in this game there were too many leaky yards on some of the runs,” Quinn said. “They had a long touchdown run. Those two explosive runs were uncomfortable for those guys.”Quinn likes what he’s seen from running back Tevin Coleman in the preseason. The No. 2 running back has worked exclusively with the starters and is averaging 5.4 yards on 18 runs. Quinn also was pleased that the defense looked sharp on the opening drive when cornerback Robert Alford tipped the ball on strong safety Keanu Neal’s interception.Though the third- and fourth-stringers will take most of the snaps when the Falcons (0-3) face Miami (0-3), Quinn still wants his front-line players to improve.He called out rookie receiver Calvin Ridley in a team film session Monday after the first-round draft pick dropped two passes with the ball in his hands and no contact from the Jaguars.“Nobody escapes that,” Quinn said. “That’s part of the process we go through to say, ‘Hey, man, we expect you to own that moment.’ It wasn’t just him. There were other people.”Quinn used the film session as a teaching moment for Ridley, who likely won’t play this week, and a reminder that the Falcons led the NFL in drops last season.“I think to be a true team, you have to show all the examples — the one where he really lights ’em up good and the ones that he had a drop,” Quinn said.“Probably his first taste. Last week he was on his way to becoming the next rookie Pro Bowl receiver and then he had a drop. Welcome to the NFL.“He’s a really detailed and prideful guy. There’s an intensity he brings in practice is past maybe his age. I really respect that part of his game. As mistakes happen, which they’re going to, I generally want to see how a guy rebounds.”