The Facts: Mahomes wins The Associated Press 2018 NFL Most Valuable Player award.

Diehards Line:It's not a huge surprise. ... The 23-year-old was announced as the NFL's 2018 MVP Saturday night at NFL Honors, making Mahomes the youngest recipient of the award since Dan Marino in 1984. As NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal suggested, it's difficult to find a historical precedent for Mahomes because of his combination of athletic gifts, smarts and creativity, although Marino's early dominance is a fine place to start. Mahomes finished with 50 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 5,097 yards and 8.8 yards-per-attempt in large part because even the right defensive play calls didn't work. Cornerbacks found themselves out of position because Mahomes' ball arrived so fast. Chiefs receivers, even when covered early in plays, were given extra time by Mahomes' uncanny ability to buy time outside the pocket. After receiving just one impressive start as a rookie, Mahomes showed the maturity of a veteran by reading coverages and looking off defenders. The game appears slow to Mahomes.