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For the first time ever a former Texas Tech player has won the NFL’s most prestigious individual award. That is of course the league MVP award, which went to Patrick Mahomes after an outstanding 2018 season.
Mahomes passed for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns, leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a 12-4 season and the #1 seed in the AFC. Mahomes became the second player in NFL history (joining Peyton Manning) to pass for over 5,000 yards and record 50 touchdowns. Mahomes put up at least 200 yards in all 16 games, and had the most road touchdowns in a season in NFL history with 31.
The 23 year old superstar won the MVP with 41/50 first place votes, as he also won many other awards over the course of the season, such as AFC player of the month in September, Sports Illustrated MVP, and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award. He became the youngest MVP since Dan Marino in 1984. He became the first AFC West quarterback to win the MVP since Peyton Manning in 2013, and the first Chiefs quarterback to ever win MVP.
Pat’s season came to an end after a tough loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. The Chiefs became the first team in NFL history to put up at least 26 points in every game, and averaged over 35 points per game in five losses this season. Mahomes will look to lead the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl in 50 seasons next year.
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Prior to becoming an NFL superstar, Mahomes was an incredible playmaker at Texas Tech. Under Kliff Kingsbury, the young QB put up insane numbers, as he racked up over 11,000 passing yards and 93 touchdowns in three years at Tech. The Red Raider offenses under Mahomes were top five nationwide in terms of yards per game in both 2015 and 2016. After forgoing his final year of college eligibility Mahomes was selected 10th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Chiefs. After sitting a year under Alex Smith, Mahomes took over the starting QB position in Kansas City this past offseason. Now it looks like the rest of the NFL will have to worry about the former Red Raider for at least the next decade.