Patrick Mahomes has separated himself from all the other quarterbacks.
The three-time Super Bowl MVP was a unanimous choice by The Associated Press for the NFL’s No. 1 quarterback in a preseason poll.
A panel of eight AP Pro Football Writers ranked the top five players at QB, basing selections on current status entering the 2024 season. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.
Despite a subpar regular season — by his lofty standards — Mahomes had another exceptional postseason, leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a repeat Super Bowl victory and their third title in five seasons.
Josh Allen, reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, C.J. Stroud and Brock Purdy each received second-place votes.
Aaron Rodgers, Jalen Hurts, Dak Prescott, Tua Tagovailoa, Matthew Stafford and Justin Herbert also received votes.
Mahomes posted the lowest passer rating (92.6) of his career last season, throwing for 4,183 yards, 27 touchdowns and a career-high 14 interceptions. But he stepped up in the playoffs, leading the Chiefs to a rout over Miami, road wins in Buffalo and Baltimore and an overtime victory in the Super Bowl against San Francisco.
Mahomes only turns 29 in September and already has a chance to become only the fourth quarterback to win four Super Bowls.
Despite being plagued by playoff frustrations, Allen earned the No. 2 spot in the AP rankings with four second-place votes and appearing on seven of eight ballots. Allen threw for 4,306 yards with 29 TDs and a career-high 18 picks last season while also rushing for 15 scores.
The Bills have won four straight AFC East titles but have lost in the divisional round of the playoffs in three consecutive seasons.
Jackson was a near-unanimous choice for his second NFL MVP award following an outstanding regular season in which he threw for 3,678 yards and 24 touchdowns and ran for 821 yards and five scores while leading Baltimore to 10 wins over teams that finished with a winning record.
But Jackson and the Ravens lost to Mahomes and the Chiefs in the AFC championship game, a bitter ending to a fantastic season. The Ravens fell to 2-4 in the playoffs under Jackson, who was left off two ballots.
Burrow was slowed by a calf injury at the start of the season before wrist surgery ended his year in November. Still, he earned the No. 4 spot with two third-place votes and three fourth-place selections.
Burrow had 2,309 yards passing, 15 TDs and nine interceptions in 10 games. He had regained his Pro Bowl form prior to his injury, posting a 106.5 passer rating in his final six starts.
When healthy, Burrow led the Bengals to consecutive AFC title games and a Super Bowl loss.
The No. 2 pick in the 2023 draft turned into the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. Stroud threw for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, five interceptions and had a passer rating of 100.8, third best by a rookie. He helped the Texans go from worst to first place in the AFC South and led them to a playoff win in the wild-card round.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
