The Kansas City Chiefs recently suffered a brutal Super Bowl loss, forcing them back to the drawing board.
Kansas City entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a 15-2 record. After earning the first-round bye, the Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans in the postseason.
They punched their ticket to Super Bowl LIX, but the Chiefs fell at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles, 40-22.
Following the blowout loss, the Chiefs’ official social media account announced the team’s MVP, voted by the players within the organization.
Offensive guard Joe Thuney earned the “Derrick Thomas MVP Award” for the 2024 NFL season.
“Definition of a team player,” the Chiefs posted.
Thuney has been with the Chiefs organization since 2021, following a five-year start to his career with the New England Patriots. Since arriving in Kansas City, Thuney has been named a two-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler.
During the 2024 season, Thuney was ranked at No. 10 on the AP Offensive Player of the Year Award rankings, edging out NFL stars such as Baker Mayfield, George Kittle and the Chiefs’ very own Patrick Mahomes.
Thuney had another standout season in Kansas City, but some might have expected one of the two biggest stars on the offense to earn team MVP honors.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs to their third straight Super Bowl, while helping Kansas City earn its fifth AFC title in the past six years.
Mahomes capped off the season passing for 26 touchdowns and 3,928 yards while completing 67.5% of pass attempts.
Tight end Travis Kelce also had another solid showing during the regular season, posting three touchdowns and 823 yards on 97 receptions.
Mahomes has won the team MVP award three times, following the 2018, 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Derrick Thomas was an All-Pro linebacker who played his entire 11-year career with the Chiefs. The Pro Football Hall of Famer had 126.5 career sacks and died tragically following a car crash in 2000 at age 33.
