Up until this point in the 2020 NFL Season, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes hasn’t really been mentioned among the NFL MVP candidates. Sure, he had favorable betting odds, but the media-driven conversation was focused on Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson or Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers.
While those two dominated the conversation, Mahomes was quietly amassing passing yardage, becoming the quickest ever to reach 10,000 career passing yards. This past Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, Mahomes became the fastest quarterback to reach 100 career passing touchdowns, Both times he beat out Pro Football Hall of Fame QB Dan Marino.
But it’s not just the incredible accolades that put Mahomes squarely in the midst of the MVP race. If you look at how his numbers compare from his MVP win in 2018, they’re nearly identical.
At this point of Mahomes’ 2018 MVP-winning season, the Chiefs were also 8-1 and he had completed 66.3% of his passes for 2,901 yards, 29 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a 116.7 passer rating. He also had 32 carries for 137 yards and two touchdowns.
This year through nine games, Mahomes has completed 66.9% of his passes for 2,687 yards, 25 touchdowns, one interception, and a 116 passer rating. He also has 36 carries for 165 yards and two touchdowns. He became the only player in the history of the league to have 25 touchdowns to just one interception through the first nine games to start an NFL season.
Mahomes is currently pacing to finish the season with 48 touchdowns and just three interceptions. There has never been a quarterback in the history of the game to throw at least 45 touchdowns and less than five interceptions in a season. You’d have to go back to the 2011 season, when Aaron Rodgers threw 45 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, to find the next closest player. As of now, Mahomes’ 0.3% interception rate is tied with Rodgers for the best in a single season in NFL history.
The team’s success, lack of interceptions and the fact that Mahomes is simply doing things that have never been done in the history of the sport make him a shoo-in candidate for the 2020 AP MVP Award. Wilson and Rodgers are great and all, but no candidate is infallible this year. So long as Mahomes keeps playing at his current record-setting pace, he should have a good shot at landing two league MVP awards before he turns 26 years old.
