At the age of 27, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is heading to his third Super Bowl after the Chiefs defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC title game. After being named league MVP for the second time on Thursday night, he could also do something that the NFL has not seen since he was 4 years old -- win both league MVP and a Super Bowl title in the same year.
The last time a player won the Super Bowl and the league MVP in the same season was 1999, when Kurt Warner did it with the Rams.
However, recent history shows it may be difficult for Mahomes to win the Super Bowl, as the last nine players to win MVP and reach the Super Bowl in the same season all lost the big game. Eight of them were quarterbacks.
Here is a look at the last 10 players to win the MVP and advance to the Super Bowl and how they fared in the big game:
| Year | MVP | Super Bowl result | Team | Super Bowl opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2022 | Patrick Mahomes | TBD | Chiefs | Eagles |
2017 | LOST | Eagles | ||
2016 | LOST | Patriots | ||
2015 | LOST | |||
2013 | LOST | Broncos | ||
2009 | Peyton Manning | LOST | ||
2007 | Tom Brady | LOST | Patriots | |
2005 | Shaun Alexander | LOST | Seahawks | |
2002 | Rich Gannon | LOST | ||
2001 | Kurt Warner | LOST | Patriots | |
1999 | Kurt Warner | WON | Cardinals |
Mahomes also lead the league in passing this season, which sounds like it would help his chances of winning a Super Bowl, but it turns out that it's another way history is stacked against the Chiefs. No quarterback has ever lead the league in passing yards and won the Super Bowl in the same season.
Mahomes finished the season with 5,250 passing yards, more than 500 yards higher than his next closest competitor Justin Herbert, who threw for 4,739.
Mahomes has history and the Philadelphia Eagles standing between him and the Lombardi Trophy and possibly even the Super Bowl MVP trophy. The top-seeded Eagles defeated the San Francisco 49ers convincingly in the NFC title game to earn the Super Bowl berth.
The last time Mahomes won league MVP was in 2018, when the Chiefs lost in the AFC Championship Game. The last time Mahomes won the Super Bowl (2019) Lamar Jackson was named unanimous MVP. This year things are shaping up to potentially be in No. 15's favor.
In total, six quarterbacks have won both league MVP and the Super Bowl in the same season, including Warner, Brett Favre (1996), Steve Young (1994), Joe Montana (1989), Terry Bradshaw (1978) and Bart Starr (1966). Each, with the exception of Favre, also brought home the Super Bowl MVP in the same season.
