Kansas City Chiefs: MVP Race is Closer Than You Think

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been an all-out superstar in his first season starting and making a strong case for league MVP. He might not be a shoe-in for the award however.

Patrick Mahomes has racked up 45 touchdown passes through the air and has 4,543 yards for the Kansas City Chiefs with two games left to play, putting him in elite territory with names like Dan Marino, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. All of which won the league’s MVP award in those respective seasons.

You would think that assuming Mahomes tosses 50 plus touchdowns and over 5,000 yards passing, he would be the shoe-in for the award, right?

The answer is a big fat NO because a few other guys are playing at level equally as high and are grabbing the AP-voters attention. The trendiest of those names are quarterbacks Drew Brees and Philip Rivers.

Brees is on pace to break some of his own records in completion percentage (75.5%) and is protecting the football with a 31-4 touchdown to interception ratio, via NFL Stats. That, and he has his team in the running for the number one seed in the NFC.

That said, Brees hasn’t exactly been playing his best football the past two weeks, only throwing for a combined 328 yards and two touchdowns. Brees also threw a game sealing interception in Dallas on what could’ve been the game winning drive.

Polar opposites over the last few weeks for Philip Rivers and his Los Angeles Chargers. Rivers is completing 69.4% of his passes with almost 4,000 yards passing and 31 touchdowns, via NFL stats and info. He has tossed eight interceptions this season, but Rivers has willed his team to victory twice now in critical AFC match-ups.

He and the Chargers have now over come two double digit deficits on the road with playoff implications on the line, the first being 16 points in Pittsburgh.

Say what you want about the Steelers this season, but coming back from 16 in their building had never been done in the history of their franchise and it was sealed by a game winning field goal drive from Philip Rivers.

Go into Thursday night’s game, Kansas City was all over the 37 year old quarterback for most of the game. Rivers took some shots, turned the ball over twice in the first half and found himself in a 14 point hole with just under five minutes to play in regulation.

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We all know how it ends. Rivers throws two touchdowns, converts the two point conversion and now the Chargers gave themselves a chance to win the AFC West and potentially the AFC’s one seed in the playoffs.

Rivers and the Chargers now have wins on the road at Seattle, Pittsburgh and Kansas City, all three of which are considered among the toughest venues play in the NFL. Company that with the comebacks, similar stats to Brees, and all of a sudden his MVP resumé is as good as anyone’s in the race.

Personally, I don’t think this race should be close.

Patrick Mahomes is going to finish with one of THE best seasons from a quarterback statistically and everyone else in this territory was handed the reward, but if the Chiefs choke away their opportunity at the one seed and wind up bounced in the first round of the playoffs like normal, I’m not sure the associated press is going to give the honor to the kid.

Top 15 Chiefs Leaders in Passing Yards All-Time. dark. Next

There are still two weeks left play and SO much can happen but one things for sure, this MVP race is a lot closer than you think.

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