How the Chiefs own MVP award reflected the reality of 2021 season

Most fan bases would be thrilled with the season just completed by the Kansas City Chiefs.

A star quarterback put up numbers that kept him in the MVP conversation for the entire year. Both the team’s top wide receiver and tight end were named to the Pro Bowl and flirted with the NFL’s leaderboard in multiple categories for most of the season. Defensive stars stepped up and did enough to turn around a unit that ultimately came together with the offense to host a conference championship game.

Like I said, for most fan bases, that’s a season to remember. That’s not true in Kansas City.

It was a year in which the Chiefs and its players put up some very strong performances and yet no one seemed like they had a year to remember.

If anything, the 2021 season was a forgettable year in the bigger picture, it was a season in which individual players put up strong performances but none of them enjoyed a career year that will stand out in memory. And that feels true of the entire franchise.

On Tuesday, the Chiefs announced their team MVP for the year—otherwise known as the annual Derrick Thomas Award winner—and safety Tyrann Mathieu took home the trophy for the second time in two seasons since landing with the Chiefs. That might have come as a surprise to you, at least until you consider the rest of the options.

The right answer to the Chiefs MVP for 2021 really should be everyone—or no one at all. Is it really possible to single out one player who went above and beyond anyone else? Was there a single player who put out such a standout effort that it moved the needle on the season in such a clear and obvious way? There are arguments to be made for a handful of guys and yet each of those guys has performed better before.

Let’s start with Mathieu, for instance. Of all three of his seasons in Kansas City, this one feels like his worst overall body of work compared to the superhuman efforts of the last two seasons. That’s not a slight at all on this year. Rather, he was just so dominant in previous seasons that it felt this season came with a slightly lesser impact. Whether that’s due to lingering injuries or a half-season of poor overall defensive performances, most fans aren’t going to point to 2021 as the best example of Mathieu’s work.

If we’re sticking with defense, the same could be said for Chris Jones up front. Again, that’s not a slight. Jones dominated inside at the same rate as expected. He’s a beast who cannot be stopped, even when multiple players are assigned with occupying him up front. Yet this season also came with the “play me outside” experiment and, again, the frustrating defensive efforts early on. Plus it felt as if the Chiefs failed on multiple occasions to overwhelm a clearly decimated line opposite them.

Yet the same is true on the offensive side and we’ll start at the top with Patrick Mahomes. It’s not fair for Mahomes to have to live up to himself, but that’s just the reality before him. While 50 touchdowns and 5,000 passing yards are a thing of the past, due to a lopsided roster that forced the offense to overwhelm opponents (and before defenses adjusted to eliminate the big play), the truth is that Mahomes made plenty of mistakes in 2021 and this was his worst year yet.

In 2021, Mahomes set a new high with 13 interceptions and a new low for passer rating (98.5) and yards per attempt (7.6). While his numbers were still MVP worthy (with 37 touchdowns and 4,839 passing yards), the truth is 2021 was a year of adjustment for Mahomes—adjusting to a new line, to what defenses gave him, to a lack of Sammy Watkins. For every fluke interception, there was another one dropped by opposing defenders. It was a brilliant season for anyone else, but it was not his best work, and Mahomes himself would admit it.

The same could be said of the team’s top two offensive pillars. Both Kelce and Hill have set franchise and league records before with their production, but in 2021, it felt like “just another 1,000-yard season.” While fans should never take their consistent production for granted, I’m simply pointing out that it’s hard to point to Kelce or Hill in 2021 and say, “HE was the guy!” Both players had their fair share of drops—including some at critical times—and other years have better defined their game.

As a unit, the Chiefs put up solid or even excellent numbers but no one in the organization was pleased with how the body of work turned out. What’s interesting is that the same can be said of the individual seasons of its best players. While the stars continued to shine, the truth is that each has shone brighter in years past. All of which made this year’s MVP choice a direct reflection of the team’s performance.