KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the second time in five seasons as the Kansas City Chiefs’ starting quarterback, Patrick Mahomes has been chosen as NFL MVP by The Associated Press.
The honor was announced Thursday night during the “NFL Honors” awards ceremony, which aired on KSHB 41 News.
Mahomes, 27, is one of 10 players in NFL history to win multiple MVP awards, becoming the third-youngest two-time MVP in NFL history.
After winning league MVP during the 2018 season and winning Super Bowl LIV one season later, Mahomes will try Sunday to become the first player since Kurt Warner in the 1999 season to win MVP and a Super Bowl in the same season.
Mahomes set the NFL’s all-time single-season record for total yards (5,420) despite losing his top wide receiver, Tyreek Hill, via trade during the offseason.
Adjusting to a new receiving corps, all Mahomes did was lead the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns. He finished the season 435 of 648 — a career-best 67.1 completion percentage — for 5,250 yards with 41 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Mahomes also rushed for 358 yards, his third straight year topping 300 yards, with a career-high four rushing touchdowns and the led the league in QBR (77.6) for the second time in his career.
It also was Mahomes’ second season with at least 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns passing. He and Drew Brees are the players in NFL history with two such seasons.
The Chiefs play the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, this weekend for the NFL crown.
The AP has given the MVP award annually since 1957. It’s gone to a quarterback every year since 2012, when Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson won.
Peterson, former Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson and former Seattle running back Shaun Alexander are the only non-quarterbacks to win the award since Marshall Faulk in 2000.
Peyton Manning’s five MVP awards are the most in league history followed by Aaron Rodgers with four.
Four players — Tom Brady, Jim Brown, Brett Favre and Johnny Unitas — have won the honor three times, while Mahomes joins Joe Montana, Kurt Warner and Steve Young as the only other two-time winners.
Every eligible player to win multiple MVP awards has been selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, while the recently retired Brady and Rodgers are virtual locks for enshrinement in Canton, Ohio, putting Mahomes in elite historical company.
Brown was 22 years old when he won his second MVP in 1958, making him the youngest-ever two-time winner.
Favre also was 27 when he won his second MVP in 1996, but he was younger than Mahomes by one month.
Now, Mahomes hopes to join a group of 12 quarterbacks who have won multiple Super Bowls as a starter.
Most AP MVP awards, NFL history
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