Patrick Mahomes won’t win NFL MVP this season. He didn’t deserve it based on his regular season. That’s probably OK with him since the Kansas City Chiefs are going back to the Super Bowl.
It doesn’t matter anymore if the Chiefs and Mahomes show out in the regular season. When they get to the playoffs, they have Mahomes and that makes them tough to beat.
The Chiefs are going to their fourth Super Bowl in the last five seasons after Mahomes had an excellent first half and Kansas City’s defense did the rest in a 17-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens.
The Chiefs had not played a true road playoff game with Mahomes before this season. This postseason, the Chiefs went on the road and beat the Buffalo Bills and Ravens in consecutive weeks, adding even more chapters to Mahomes’ legacy and their own growing dynasty.
The Ravens weren’t overrated and neither was Lamar Jackson. The Ravens were great all season and Jackson deserves the MVP he’ll get in two weeks.
But Mahomes is the one current quarterback you want if you absolutely need to win a big game. The Chiefs looked like less than themselves most of the season.
They lost six games, including losses to the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders.
The offense was questioned for not having enough star power. But in the end, it didn’t matter what happened in the regular season. Kansas City was great when it needed to be.
The Ravens had their chances. With 6:45 left and the ball at the Chiefs’ 25, Jackson threw into triple coverage to the end zone and safety Deon Bush had an easy interception.
The turnovers by Flowers and Jackson in the fourth quarter were huge reasons Baltimore lost. The Ravens had one final shot to get the ball back trailing 17-10 but Marquez Valdes-Scantling caught a long third-down pass from Mahomes just before the two-minute warning to seal the AFC title.
Jackson is in for another year of hearing about how he can’t win the big one. He will have two MVPs soon but no Super Bowl appearances.
