Greatest NFL MVPs: 2018 Patrick Mahomes will not be matched by many

We are just a few weeks away from finding out who the 2022 NFL MVP winner is. So let's take review some of the best single-season performers of all time, starting with the favorite to win the NFL MVP award this season, 2018 winner Patrick Mahomes.

Patrick Mahomes was drafted in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. He only started one game as Alex Smith remained the starter so the Chiefs could develop Mahomes. Smith would be traded away to allow Mahomes to take the starting job in 2018.

Your 2018 MVP is...

PATRICK MAHOMES!

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The 2018 NFL MVP spectacle that was Patrick Mahomes

Mahomes' breakout season began in Week 1 of 2018. He threw for 256 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-28 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, including his first-ever touchdown -- a 58-yard pass to Tyreek Hill.

He followed that up with another six-touchdown performance in Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a passer rating of 154.8. He won back-to-back AFC Offensive Player of the Week awards for these two performances.

Mahomes' strong start to the season continued throughout the year as he consistently put up big numbers. He had a 3-week stretch of four touchdown games against the Patriots, Bengals, and Broncos. He also passed for over 300 yards in nine different games. This included a career-high 478 yards and six touchdowns in their Week 11 Monday Night Football classic 54-51 loss to the Rams -- a game that lives on in primetime history as one of the greatest.

At the end of the regular season, Mahomes led the league in touchdown passes (50), passer rating (113.8), and yards per pass attempt (8.8). He also became the second player in NFL history to throw for over 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns in a season and only the seventh player to ever throw for 5,000 yards.

Mahomes' impressive performances throughout the season earned him the NFL MVP award. He became the youngest quarterback to win the award at the age of 23, but Lamar Jackson broke the record the following year at age 22. Mahomes also led the Chiefs to the AFC Championship game, where they lost to the New England Patriots.

Mahomes' 2018 NFL MVP season will be remembered as one of the greatest by a quarterback in NFL history. It marked the beginning of his journey as one of the best signal-callers in the league.