Not only are the Broncos not playing in the Super Bowl, they came away with no award winners from the site of the big game.

At NFL Honors on Thursday night in the San Francisco Bay Area, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and three Denver players were up for awards, but all came up short.

Joseph finished second in voting for Assistant Coach of the Year, losing out to New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto was fourth in voting for Defensive Player of the Year, with Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett being the unanimous winner.

Tackle Garett Bolles was up for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award but the winner was Washington linebacker Bobby Wagner. Bolles was in attendance at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco along with most of the other 31 nominees from NFL teams.

Bolles and guard Quinn Meinerz were among five finalists for the inaugural NFL Protector of the Year Award, which goes to the top offensive lineman. But the winner was Chicago guard Joe Thuney.

In voting from a 50-person panel, conducted by The Associated Press, McDaniels received 17 first-place votes and 249 total points on ballots cast on a 10-5-3-2-1 scoring basis. Joseph received 10 first-place votes and 176 total points.

The voting was done at the conclusion of the regular season, so the Patriots defeating the Broncos 10-7 in the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 25 had no bearing on the outcome. New England will face Seattle in Sunday’s Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara., California.

Joseph last month was named Assistant Coach of the Year in voting by members of the Pro Football Writers of America.

Bonitto, who led the Broncos with 14 sacks, had admitted when named one of the five finalists last month that he had virtually no chance of winning. Garrett, who set an NFL record with 23 sacks, received all 50 votes from the panel.

Bonitto was not at NFL Honors after having played Tuesday night in the Pro Bowl Games in San Francisco. After that, he had cleanup surgery on a wrist injury he had played with throughout most of the season. Bonitto, who posted a picture Thursday of himself at a medical facility, is expected to be ready for the start of offseason drills the week of April 20.

No voting totals were released for the Man of the Year Award and for Protector of the Year. The Man of the Year was determined by a voting panel that includes NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Connie Payton, the widow of Walter Payton, last year’s winner, Jacksonville defensive end Arik Armstead, and a number of former players. Protector of the Year was selected by a panel of former offensive linemen.

San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey, a native of the Denver area who starred at Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. The longtime star, limited to just four games in 2024 due to injuries, rushed for 1,202 yards and caught 102 passes for 924 yards in 2025.

McCaffrey had been announced Wednesday as winner of the NFL’s Salute to Service Award.