Getty Images Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Four weeks into the NFL season, only the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams remain undefeated. Unsurprisingly, their quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes and Jared Goff, got the nods as the top offensive players of September in their respective conferences.
Offensive Players of the Month (September):
AFC: @Chiefs QB @PatrickMahomes5
NFC: @RamsNFL QB @JaredGoff16
Patrick Mahomes for MVP?
It’s early, but the first-year Chiefs starter has gotten MVP buzz from around the league, including from former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone, who has the unenviable task of trying to curb the talented quarterback’s production in Week 5.
“Right now, he’s playing better than any quarterback has ever played. He’s an MVP quarterback,” Marrone said of Mahomes in a Wednesday press conference. “The question is what he can’t do. I don’t know. I don’t think words can really put in perspective how great he’s playing. That’s really all there is to it. … He gives you challenges every which way whether you put him in the pocket [or not]. He can make every throw. He makes quick decisions. You get him out of the pocket and he can extend plays. He is athletic enough to run and run for a long way and take it to the house. He has great command, and he has great weapons around him and an outstanding offensive line. Right now, offensively, what you’re seeing is that it’s kind of unbelievable, which is going to be a great challenge. We have our hands full.”
Marrone added: “You are talking about someone that is a combination of a lot of the greatest players that ever played that position with the way he is playing. That’s just on tape.”
Mahomes set an NFL record by throwing 13 touchdown passes in the first three weeks of the season, breaking Peyton’s Manning’s mark of 12 from 2013. He followed that up in Week 4 by leading Kansas City to a comeback victory over the Denver Broncos, who had a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Jared Goff Is Right Behind Him
Sitting in second place behind Mahomes in MVP odds, according to betting site Bovada, is Goff (he’s at +500; the Chiefs QB’s odds are +400).
The Rams quarterback’s best game of the season — and of his career — came in Week 4, when he lit the Minnesota Vikings up for 465 yards, five passing touchdowns, and no interceptions on 26-of-33 passing.
“The dude is a straight baller being that accurate delivering the ball,” receiver Robert Woods told reporters after the 38-31 Rams victory. “Just standing tall in the pocket, making the right decisions and leading this team.”
With the performance, Goff became just the third quarterback in the Super Bowl era to post a perfect passer rating of 158.3 on more than 30 passing attempts, joining Kurt Warner (2000) and Ken O’Brien (1986).
“Jared’s an absolute playmaker with how he’s able to place the ball,” added Cooper Kupp, who hauled in nine passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns in the win. “How he’s able to slide in the pocket and make some of these throws.”