KANSAS CITY, Mo. Patrick Mahomes is the rarest of athletes, with so much physical talent that expectations stretch beyond what should be realistic and so much confidence that his level of play goes even further. He is a revelation.
The experience of watching his career with the Chiefs from the ground up has basically been a weird tug of war between what a logical mind thinks possible and what open eyes see as reality.
So, heres a moment won by open eyes:
Patrick Mahomes 23 years old, in his first season as a starter and just his fourth as a full-time football player will be the NFLs MVP if he closes even nearly as well as hes begun.
We can do this statistically. We can do this schematically. We can do this emotionally. We can even do this via narrative.
The conclusions are the same, and even allowing for the obvious caveat that the last four games of the season will carry disproportionate importance in the minds of voters, he has been the best player on the best offense and most important position in American sports.
I dont want to disrespect him with this, but I see a lot of my young self in him, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said.
Thats the future of the league, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said.
We look at him as a young Brett Favre but just more athletic, Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith said.
The MVP is among the most subjective awards in any sport. That might be particularly true in football, which is harder to quantify than baseball, for instance. Whats most valuable to you might be different than whats most valuable to me.
But at least at the moment, Mahomes case borders on overwhelming.
He leads the NFL in touchdown passes, touchdown percentage and total quarterback rating. He is second in yards and passer rating. The NFL has made itself into a league ruled by offense. The Chiefs have scored more points than anyone else, and Mahomes is the single biggest reason.
He has thrown as many touchdowns as Rodgers and Brady combined, and as many as the man he replaced threw in the last two seasons combined. He is on pace to tie Peyton Mannings all-time record of 55 touchdown passes in a season. There is a logical case to be made that Mahomes is having the best season by a quarterback in NFL history.
Drew Brees is the closest thing to Mahomes statistical equal first in passer rating and completion percentage, with 30 touchdowns (third) and just three interceptions. He is a Super Bowl champion and first-ballot Hall of Famer who might benefit from a sentimental vote. But he also threw for just 127 yards, one touchdown and an interception in an ugly and nationally televised 13-10 loss at Dallas. That will be tough for voters to forget.
This sounds made up, but Mahomes worst game of the season was either the time he won at Denver on Monday night with a left-handed pass, threw for more than 300 yards in a blowout win over Jacksonville, became the youngest quarterback to throw for 350 yards and four touchdowns against Bill Belichick, or that time he threw for 478 yards and six touchdowns against the Rams.
