Patrick Mahomes won going away.
In an early matchup between this weekend's opposing Super Bowl quarterbacks, Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs was named this year's Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player, easily outdistancing the Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts.
The 27-year-old Mahomes won the MVP award Thursday night for the second time in his six-year career, drawing 48 of the 50 first-place votes and collecting 490 points. Hurts and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen each collected one first-place vote, and Hurts finished in second place with a distant 193 points.
In a pre-taped statement, Mahomes thanked his teammates, coaching staff and Kansas City organization.
"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 record-setting regular season, finishing with 5,614 total yards in passing, rushing and receiving – yes, the all-pro quarterback caught one pass for 6 yards. His total yards surpassed the previous record of 5,562 yards by Drew Brees.
Kickoff for the Super Bowl is at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday. This year's Super Bowl will be historic: it will be the first Super Bowl featuring two Black starting quarterbacks.
Mahomes won the award at the annual NFL awards ceremony. Other notable winners included Brian Daboll of the New York Giants as the coach of the year, and Geno Smith of the Seattle Seahawks as the Comeback Player of the Year.
Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys was named the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year winner. The Man of the Year award goes to the player recognized for community activity off the field, as well as their season in the league.
