KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two Kansas City Chiefs players on different sides of the ball will receive AFC Player of the Year honors at the 53rd annual NFL 101 Awards in Kansas City, Missouri.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes won the AFC Offensive Player of the Year and defensive tackle Chris Jones won the AFC Defensive Player of the Year.
Mahomes, who led the Chiefs to a seventh-consecutive AFC West crown, topped the NFL in passing yards, throwing for a franchise-record 5,250 yards. His 5,614 total yards passed New Orleans' Drew Brees for the most yards from scrimmage in an NFL season by a quarterback.
With his 358 rushing yards, he became the only quarterback in NFL history to throw for 5,000+ yards and rush for 350+ yards in the same season.
Mahomes was the only quarterback in the league to average more than 300 yards passing per game (308.8) while completing a career-best 67.1% of his passes.
After a record-breaking season, the sixth-year quarterback is a leading candidate for NFL Most Valuable Player.
Jones achieved multi-sack games five times, which was the most by a defensive tackle. He tied his single-season career high with 15.5 sacks, which tied for fourth in the NFL and second in the AFC, only behind Cleveland’s Myles Garrett (16).
The seventh-year player also set a career-high for tackles (44) while tying a career-high for quarterback hits (29).
Jones recorded at least a half-sack in six straight games, tying the third-longest streak in Chiefs franchise history. He also forced two fumbles and recovered one.
Other award recipients include Philadelphia's quarterback Jalen Hurts as NFC Offensive Player of the Year, San Francisco's defensive end Nick Bosa as NFC Defensive Player of the Year, Jacksonville's head coach Doug Pederson as AFC Coach of the Year and New York's head coach Brian Daboll as NFC Coach of the Year.
The honorees for the 2022 season will be presented with their awards at the 53rd Annual 101 Awards Gala, on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, at the Westin Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri.
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