Patrick Mahomes had a year for the ages. The second-year signal caller for the Kansas City Chiefs exceeded expectations after stepping in for Alex Smith, orchestrating the NFL’s most dynamic offense and leading Kansas City to a 12-4 record in the regular season. While the Chiefs came just short of making it to the Super Bowl, Mahomes earned the highest individual honor a player can receive.
Mahomes was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player on Saturday night. At 23 years old, Mahomes is the youngest player to win the award since Dan Marino won it during his sophomore campaign in 1984.
M-V-P!@Chiefs QB @PatrickMahomes5 is the 2018 Most Valuable Player! #NFLHonors (by @pizzahut) pic.twitter.com/zFEoclRsrq
— NFL (@NFL) February 2, 2019
Additionally, Mahomes is the first player in Chiefs history to win the award.
For the first time in NFL history, the MVP is a Chief.
Congratulations, @PatrickMahomes5 on a historic 2018 season! #MVPat pic.twitter.com/15IJ1JZAkU
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) February 2, 2019
Mahomes was named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year earlier in the evening, adding to a laundry list of awards that he took home this season.
.@PatrickMahomes5 won more national honors (14) than he had INTs (12)…not bad for a gunslinger.
AFC OPOW – Week 1 & 2
AFC OPOM – Sept
Pro Bowler
Pro Bowl MVP
AP First-Team All-Pro
PFWA OPOY
PFWA MVP
PFF MVP
CBS MVP
Sports Illustrated MVP
NFL Fed Ex Air POY
NFL OPOY
AP NFL MVP pic.twitter.com/wgoJwUlOMD— Chiefs Reporter (@ChiefsReporter) February 3, 2019
Coming into Saturday evening, the MVP race was viewed as a head-to-head battle between Mahomes and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. Either would have been a reasonable choice, as both signal callers were excellent this season and deserved to be named MVP for the first time in their careers. Unfortunately for Brees, though, he’ll have to wait another year to put that feather in his cap, as Mahomes ended up winning the award in a landslide.
MVP voting was Mahomes in a landslide:
Mahomes — 41
Brees — 9— David Ely (@David_Ely) February 3, 2019
Still, it’s easy to see why Mahomes deserved it this season. He put forth an absolutely breathtaking season, leading the league with 50 touchdown passes. Beyond that, Mahomes completed 66 percent of his passes for 5,097 yards and only threw 12 interceptions. While the numbers are great, the thing that really made this year unforgettable was the sheer number of jaw dropping plays Mahomes produced.
The thought of Mahomes finding ways to improve on his game is quite exciting, and at such a young age, it’s possible that he’s able to figure out areas where he can take a step forward. You never quite know what tomorrow holds in football, but if everything works out, it’s safe to guess that this won’t be the last time Mahomes is named the league’s MVP.
