A record-breaking season has landed Patrick Mahomes another prestigious honor: The Associated Press 2022 NFL Most Valuable Player.
Mahomes was named the 2022 AP NFL MVP on Thursday night at NFL Honors in Phoenix.
The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback won the award in a landslide, claiming 48 of 50 first-place votes and garnering 490 total points. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and Bills QB Josh Allen garnered the other two first-place votes, with Hurts taking second with 193 points.
Mahomes was not at the ceremony to accept the award, as he and the Chiefs prepare for Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, but the QB did have a message for his team.
"To the Chiefs organization, Clark Hunt, Brett Veach, Andy Reid, the staff and most of all, my teammates, I would never be standing here today without y'all," Mahomes said in a pre-taped speech. "Every day giving everything that we have together to go for the ultimate goal, the Super Bowl. Let's continue to go for that dream this weekend."
Mahomes completed a historic season in 2022, resetting the single-season record for total yards by surpassing Drew Brees' previous mark of 5,562 with 5,614. The vast majority of that production came from Mahomes' passing efforts, in which he set a new career-high mark with 5,250 while leading the NFL in touchdown passes with 41.
Mahomes' season was remarkable statistically, but the circumstances in which he operated make it even more impressive. 2022 was the first year in which Mahomes played without star speedster Tyreek Hill, who was traded to Miami in the offseason, requiring general manager Brett Veach to quickly retool Kansas City's receiving corps. He did so by adding JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and drafting Skyy Moore, adding three pass catchers to a group headlined by future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce, who recorded his seventh-straight 1,000-plus-yard season. Running back Jerick McKinnon benefitted from Mahomes' MVP season, too, catching nine touchdown passes, including a streak of six straight games in which he recorded one or more receiving touchdowns.
With Mahomes at the controls, Kansas City returned to the top of the statistical mountain, finishing first in total yards and passing yards per game. Despite not having Hill at their disposal, Mahomes and the Chiefs became the most productive offense in the NFL, leading the league in points scored per contest at 29.2.
Kansas City bounced back from a relatively difficult 2021 season, cruising to a 14-3 finish to the 2022 regular season and securing the top seed in the AFC. The Chiefs' home-field advantage paid off in a 23-20 AFC Championship Game win over Cincinnati, with Mahomes vanquishing his greatest nemesis to date by completing 29 of 43 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns. His 5-yard scramble on a bad ankle earned a crucial first down, setting up Harrison Butker for a game-winning 45-yard field goal.
With the retirement of Tom Brady, Mahomes stands alone as the best quarterback in the NFL. At 27 years old, Mahomes now has two MVP awards to his name in just six seasons played and five as a starter. He'll face the Eagles for a second Lombardi Trophy on Sunday in Super Bowl LVII.
