Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey could claim historic award wins

Brock Purdy is not likely to win the MVP award, but he and San Francisco 49ers teammate Christian McCaffrey could still make history by claiming a pair of end of season awards.

Quarterback Purdy and do-it-all running back McCaffrey have been nominated for the FedEx Air Player of the Year and Ground Player of the Year respectively.

Both have excellent resumes for winning their respective awards. Purdy won Air Player of the Week three times, while McCaffrey was Ground Player of the Week five times.

Of course, there is a distinct lack of prestige surrounding these awards compared to the MVP, which both Purdy and McCaffrey were in the running for prior to Lamar Jackson's performance against the 49ers on Christmas Day. 

Both will be solely focused on the Niners' playoff campaign, which starts next week during the Divisional Round, while McCaffrey will care a great deal more about winning Offensive Player of the Year, an award for which he is the clear favorite in the betting odds.

But, if both do end up winning, it would make the 49ers the first team in NFL history to have both the Air and Ground Player of the Year in the same season.

That might be something of a niche achievement, but it is illustrative of the fact that Purdy and McCaffrey have been the two most integral pieces in elevating Kyle Shanahan's offense to the most efficient in the NFL by DVOA, Expected Points Added per play and Success Rate.

As a duo, they have helped lift the Shanahan attack to levels not seen since the Niners head coach was the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons. They are each worthy of individual recognition for that achievement, and they both could be about to receive it.