Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes won the MVP award Thursday night at the NFL Honors at the Super Bowl in Phoenix.
Mahomes led the NFL with 5,250 yards passing and 41 touchdowns this season. Mahomes previously won the award for the 2018 season when he led the Chiefs to the AFC title game his first year as a starter.
“It gives you a great appreciation of this sport,” Mahomes said Thursday prior to being named MVP. “The hard work that you put in every single day and playing the last few years and not being up for the award, I think gives me even better appreciation.”
In his first season as a starter, Mahomes threw for 5,097 yards and led the league with 50 touchdowns. This season, however, many didn’t think the Chiefs would even win their division let alone advance to their third Super Bowl in four years. But thanks to Mahomes, despite playing with a lot of new faces, the Chiefs were the class of the AFC once again and Mahomes had arguably his best season.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said while many doubted Mahomes going into this season, the Chiefs quarterback just kept working to get better.
“I think we’ve seen him grow as a quarterback,” Kelce said. “His talent level goes far beyond more than his ability to instinctually just go out there. He’s playing a step ahead, he’s almost playing chess out there in terms that he’s got three or four moves in his pocket depending on what the defense does.
“And that’s what’s going to make him the greatest ever to go down. And I love playing with him and he’s nonstop always trying to find ways to make himself better for this team. And you saw that more so this year than any other year that we’ve played.”
Chiefs coach Andy Reid agreed, saying Mahomes was easily deserving of the award and that he works every day to be the best.
“I think he’s deserving of it, for sure,” Reid said. “He works extremely hard at his profession. He works hard to be the best. He tries to help our team be the best and he says it every day when he comes to practice in the huddle. ‘Let’s be great today,’ and he lives that. And my hat goes off to him for that. I’m very proud of him.”
The Chiefs will play the Eagles on Sunday in the Super Bowl, and Mahomes will try to become the first player since Kurt Warner in the 1999 season to win the NFL MVP award and a Super Bowl in the same season.
