SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is one of five finalists to take home the 2022 NFL MVP award Thursday night at NFL Honors.
The star signal-caller said Thursday that if he were to win, it would speak to the strength of the team around him.
"It's not just me," Mahomes said. "In order to win the MVP, you have to be on a great team, and especially at the quarterback position, you have to have great players around you because you're throwing the football, but they gotta make the plays happen. As much as you take pride in winning that award for yourself, teams take pride in winning that award because it's a team award, really, in a sense."
Mahomes led NFL in passing yards (5,250), passing touchdowns (41), offensive yards (5,614), and offensive TDs (45). His 5,250 passing yards in 2022 are the fourth-most in NFL history. He broke the record for most offensive yards in a single season, a mark previously held by Drew Brees (5,562 in 2011).
"It would mean the world," Mahomes said of potentially winning the MVP. "To be able to win that award, it's so special. It's so hard to do. There's so many greats that have won that award, and to be a part of that history is amazing. It's definitely something that you want to look back at your career and say that you've got that award. To be able to win that again, it's not only a testament to me but my team because as much as it is an individual award, it's a team award as well and I hope my teammates know that."
His teammates believe Mahomes has earned a second MVP but know it's not the QB's ultimate goal.
"Really, it's just something that I know at the end of his career he's going to be able to hang his hat on, but Pat doesn't walk in that building thinking 'I need to be the MVP," tight end Travis Kelce said Thursday. "He walks into that building trying to find the best way to beat the opponent that we had that week. And he just goes out there and he plays the style of football that he does. He has fun doing it with the guys that he has around him, and we rally around that, that excitement, that want for and that desire to win with the guys next to us. It just makes coming into the building that much more fun."
If Mahomes wins the MVP award Thursday night, he would be the third-youngest player to win multiple MVP awards all-time (based on age on the last day of the season -- Mahomes would be 27 years, 113 days). Only Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown (22 years, 300 days), and Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre (27 years, 73 days) did so at a younger age.
Only nine players in NFL history have won the NFL AP MVP multiple times: Peyton Manning (5), Aaron Rodgers (4), Jim Brown (3), Johnny Unitas (3), Brett Favre (3), Tom Brady (3), Joe Montana (2), Steve Young (2), Kurt Warner (2). All except Rodgers and Brady, who were active this season, are Hall of Famers.
