Patrick Mahomes wins NFL’s Most Valuable Player award for 2018

After months of debate and conjecture, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been officially named Most Valuable Player for 2018.

On Saturday night in Atlanta, the long-held debate finally came to a close with the announcement that Patrick Mahomes had been named Most Valuable Player in the National Football League for the 2018 season.

The night before the Super Bowl is the annual NFL Honors night, a ceremony in which several awards are given out including MVP as the league celebrates the highlights of the season about to be concluded.

Mahomes has been a favorite for the award for quite some time but faced stiff competition from New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who also took his team all the way to the NFC Championship. Other contenders included Todd Gurley, running back of the L.A. Rams; Philip Rivers, quarterback of the L.A. Chargers; and Aaron Donald, defensive tackle for the Rams.

Mahomes finished his first year as a starting quarterback as one of only two players to ever throw for 50 touchdowns and 5,000 passing yards in a single season—the other being Peyton Manning. He led the NFL in passing touchdowns by 11 over the next closest competitor (53 to Andrew Luck‘s 42). He led the Chiefs to the brink of a Super Bowl appearance, and he also helped players like Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce set franchise records in the process.

MVP was the highlight of the night, but it was hardly the only award given on Saturday. Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year were also given out as well as Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and Walter Payton Man of the Year for community service, an award for which Dustin Colquitt was nominated.