Patrick Mahomes’ first month as the Kansas City Chiefs’ starting quarterback couldn’t have gone much better.
The 23-year-old signal caller was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Month for September on Thursday after leading the NFL in touchdowns (13) and passer rating (137.4) while ranking second in throws of at least 25 yards (12) and third in yards per attempt (9.63) over the course of the month – all without throwing an interception.
Mahomes’ 13 touchdown passes were the most through the first three games of a season in NFL history, passing the previous mark set by Peyton Manning in 2013.
He tossed four of those touchdowns in Kansas City’s Week 1 victory over Los Angeles and another six scores in Week 2 against Pittsburgh, becoming the youngest player in league history to throw six or more touchdowns in a game and just the second quarterback to do so in franchise history, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Len Dawson.
Each of those performances earned the second-year quarterback AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors, making Mahomes the first quarterback to open the season with consecutive Player of the Week awards since Tom Brady in 2011.
He tossed another three touchdowns in the Chiefs’ Week 3 matchup with San Francisco, leading Kansas City to a third victory in as many games and earning the young quarterback some hardware for the month.
It marks the second-straight year that a member of the Chiefs has won the award in September, with running back Kareem Hunt doing so in 2017.
Mahomes is already off to a strong start in October, authoring a fourth-quarter, double-digit comeback against the Denver Broncos last Monday. He’ll look to keep that momentum rolling this Sunday as the Chiefs take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at Arrowhead Stadium.