Mahomes proves doubters wrong with MVP
PHOENIX – Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes heard the naysayers when the team traded away wide receiver Tyreek Hill, and he knew people ranked other quarterbacks above him.
But at a Feb. 13 Super Bowl 57 MVP press conference, Mahomes said that he lets his performance on the field do the talking.
And to summarize the 2022 season, Mahomes proved that he is the best player and face of the NFL.
“It’s hard not to hear that stuff, especially in today’s age of social media. You hear how not good you’re gonna be, and all you can do is prove it on the football field,” said Mahomes at the Phoenix Convention Center. “I’m not a guy who’s gonna respond and say stuff back to people or anything like that on social media. I’m just gonna go out and prove it on the football field. Once you do that, there’s nothing they can really say.”
Mahomes threw for three touchdowns on 182 passing yards and chipped in 44 yards on the ground in the 38-35 Super Bowl 57 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. He helped the Chiefs erase a 10-point halftime deficit by going 13 of 14 passing in the second half and tossing two touchdowns. He engineered scoring drives on all four of Kansas City’s second-half possessions.
He did it all with a high right ankle sprain, an injury he aggravated in the first half.
“When I got tackled it kind of rolled to the outside a little bit. Once you have that high ankle sprain, any little tweak that happens like that really magnifies it,” Mahomes said. “It was something I was gonna play through, but I’m glad we get a little bit of rest time now.”
Mahomes plans to let his ankle rest and is confident he’ll be ready in time for OTAs (organized team activities).
Going forward, though, Mahomes is in exclusive company.
He is the seventh quarterback to win both the NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP awards in the same season and is the sixth player ever to win multiple Super Bowl MVP awards.
“I believe all of the other winners of those two in the same season are all Hall of Famers, which tells you a little bit of where Patrick Mahomes is going and he’s only 27 years old,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said.
Elite company is exactly where Mahomes aspires to be.