Already a league MVP, Patrick Mahomes can now add Super Bowl MVP to his quickly expanding resume.
The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback took home Super Bowl LIV MVP honors after leading K.C. back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit and to its second-ever Lombardi Trophy and its first in 50 years in a 31-20 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
On a night when Mahomes threw two interceptions for the first time since Week 11 of last season, the Chiefs QB made up for his transgressions by leading three touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. The first two marches resulted in Mahomes touchdown passes, the first to Travis Kelce and the second to Damien Williams; the running back put K.C.'s Lombardi on ice with a game-sealing 38-yard touchdown after the two-minute warning.
"We never lost faith. That's the biggest thing," Mahomes told FOX's Chris Myers. "Everybody on this team, no one had their head down, and we believed in each other. That's what we preached all year long."
Mahomes was responsible for three scores on the evening. His first-quarter TD run gave Kansas City its first lead of the night, a 7-3 advantage. His fourth-quarter TD toss to Williams puts the Chiefs up for good.
The Chiefs signal-caller finished 26-of-42 for 286 yards, two TDs and two INTs, adding 29 yards on nine carries on the ground.
Sunday night's 10-point comeback was Mahomes' third of the postseason. K.C. fell behind 24-0 and 10-0 in the first quarters of the AFC Divisional Round and Championship Game, respectively, only for Mahomes and the Chiefs offense to eliminate those deficits by the end of the first half.
Against San Francisco, Kansas City's 10-point hole came a bit later, but it was no more insurmountable.
"We weren't executing at a high-enough level and you play a defense like that, you're not going to have much success," Mahomes said on the postgame dais. "I'm just glad our guys kept fighting and we found a way to get it in the end."
Mahomes' journey to the peak of professional football was quick and ruthless. The Chiefs traded up to select the Texas Tech QB at No. 10 in the 2017 draft, but sat him for one season behind veteran Alex Smith. After trading Smith to Washington during the 2018 offseason, the Chiefs handed the keys of the offense to Mahomes, who flourished in his first season as a starter.
In 2018, Mahomes threw for 5,097 yards and a league-high 50 touchdown passes en route to Most Valuable Player honors. Under his leadership, Kansas City got one offsides call from reaching the Super Bowl, but fell to the Patriots in the AFC title game.
This season, Mahomes missed time after dislocating his kneecap. After the reigning MVP returned in Week 10, Kansas City proceeded to lose just one more game.
Cut to Sunday night, when Mahomes, at 24 years, 138 days old, became the youngest player to win both an MVP and a Super Bowl title and the third youngest to be named Super Bowl MVP, and it's hard not to marvel at the QB's fast rise to stardom and greatness.
Kansas City's comeback on Sunday night came as fast as Mahomes' ascension to Mount Lombardi. Given the quarterback's age, ability and unflappability, expect him and the Chiefs to stay there for quite some time.
