By Amy Tennery
GLENDALE, Ariz (Reuters) – Patrick Mahomes proved he has toughness and talent in equal measure on Sunday as the Kansas City quarterback played through the pain to become the first player since Kurt Warner in 1999 to earn league and Super Bowl MVP honors in the same year.
The 27-year-old led the Chiefs to a 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at Super Bowl 57, throwing for 182 yards and three touchdowns at State Farm Stadium.
Mahomes had limped off the field wincing in pain after their final possession of the first half, heading into the locker room with the Eagles up by 10 points as Chiefs fans worried he had exacerbated an ankle sprain suffered earlier in the postseason.
But Mahomes showed he still had the magic touch after the break, engineering an extraordinary comeback by throwing two touchdown passes and scrambling 26 yards late in the fourth quarter.
“I told you all this week there’s nothing that’s going to keep me off that football field,” said Mahomes.
“We challenged each other to win this football game so shout out to my team mates – we’re Super Bowl champs.”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in Glendale, Arizona, additonal reporting by Steve Keating and Rory Carroll; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
