Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been named Super Bowl MVP, breaking a 24-year curse as he led his side to victory over Philadelphia on Monday morning.
Not since Kurt Warner in 1999 has an NFL MVP taken out Super Bowl glory in the same year, until Mahomes overcome injury to lead his team to a 38-35 win in Arizona.
Remarkably, Mahomes essentially played the second half on one leg after he aggravated the ankle issue that has plagued him this finals series.
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Chiefs fans were sweating on Mahomes’ fitness after he limped from the field late in the second quarter.
But described by his coach Andy Reid as “close to Superman”, Mahomes simply went to work in the second half as he overcame a 10-point half time deficit thanks to his absolute precision.
The Chiefs had just four plays in the second half – all resulting in scores with three touchdowns and the matchwinning field goal with 11 seconds remaining.
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“What can you say? Number 15 went to work in the second half. He was perfect. Perfect,” ESPN’s Louis Riddick said.
“It was a picture of efficiency.
“Every one said the only way Kansas City can win this game is if number 15 is magical. In the second half – magical.
“He’s MVP for a reason. That’s not to take anything away from (Eagles QB) Jalen Hurts who played his absolute tail off.”
ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky was left in awe of Mahomes’ second half dominance.
“He came out of halftime down 10, but then what felt like 10 minutes, he was up one – like that, without ever throwing an incompletion,” he said.
“Patrick was tremendous.
“They scored 38 points and had 340 yards of offence – they were on for 24 minutes!
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“There was no room for error for them and there wasn’t.”
Mahomes’ second half stats showed he had 12/13 completions as he remained “cool and in command”.
“They didn’t turnover the football a single time,” ESPN’s Steve Levy praised.
Speaking after claiming his Super Bowl MVP win, Mahomes shrugged off his injury concerns.
“I told you’ll this week there’s nothing to keep me off that football field,” he said to big cheers.
“When you have those high ankle sprains, you always reaggravate them.”
After sealing his side’s second Super Bowl crown in just four years, Mahomes told fans: “We’re not done yet”.
“This one hits different,” he said.
“You appreciate the hard work it took to get here.”
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Chiefs star Orlando Brown described his QB as “special”.
“Pat standing here as MVP, as a Super Bowl champion – it’s the work we put in,” he said.
“He’s got the heart of a warrior … we here for a reason, he’s the best in the world for a reason.”
