Seahawks Star Wins Offensive Player Of The Year With Lower Numbers Than Ja'Marr Chase's Triple Crown Season

Cincinnati's record has likely cost its star players awards in the past two seasons.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'marr Chase (1) pulls off his helmet at he returns to the sideline after a stalled drive in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 18 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns at Paycor Stadium in Downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. The Browns kicked a last second field goal to win 20-18. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — A lot of Bengals fans are not happy about the voting results for Offensive Player of the Year this season compared to the 2024 season. Ja'Marr Chase won the receiving Triple Crown that year as the league leader in receiving yards, touchdowns, and catches, but didn't receive a single first-place OPOY vote en route to a third-place finish.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba just won OPOY with 14 first-place votes and worse numbers overall compared to Chase's 2024. Yet, his team is in the Super Bowl and went 14-3 in the regular season.

Chase's team didn't make the playoffs at 9-8 across the 2024 season.

A third-year player, Smith-Njigba led the NFL with a career-high 1,793 receiving yards, the eighth most single-season yards in NFL history. Smith-Njigba set Seahawks records this season in both receiving yards and receptions (119, fourth-most in the NFL). He posted 10 touchdowns as well (sixth)

Smith-Njigba received 14 first-place votes to beat 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (12) and Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (eight). Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (six), Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (five), Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (three), Bills quarterback Josh Allen (one), and Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (one) also earned first-place votes.

Cincinnati's best playmaker led the NFL in receptions (127), receiving yards (1,708), and touchdowns (17) in the 2024 season. He's just the sixth player in the Super Bowl era to win the Triple Crown, but he still finished behind Saquon Barkley and Lamar Jackson in OPOY voting, largely because the Bengals defense blew too many games in 2024 just like it did in 2025.

It's pretty safe to say Chase controlled all he could control in the 2024 OPOY race; he just needed a few more wins to make it happen. It's curious how some awards clearly get influenced by record, while the 5-12 Browns took home Defensive Player of the Year (Myles Garrett) and Defensive Rookie of the Year (Carson Schwesinger) last night.

Cincinnati's top offensive stars figure to be in the mix for these awards next season, if that pesky record can improve into the double digits.

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