NFL Honors 2019: Award Winners, Voting Results and Twitter Reaction

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes' sensational first season as a starting quarterback was officially celebrated with the AP Most Valuable Player award at the 2019 NFL Honors banquet on Saturday night.

Mahomes edged out New Orleans Saints star Drew Brees to capture his first career MVP award. He was also named the AP Offensive Player of the Year.

Mahomes was not the only one to take home hardware, though. Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald was named the AP Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, and New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley beat out Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield for the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

Below is a look at all of Saturday's winners as well as a look inside some of the top awards:

NFL Honors 2019 Award Winners

AP Most Valuable Player: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year: Chris Long, DE, Philadelphia Eagles

AP Coach of the Year: Matt Nagy, Chicago Bears

AP Comeback Player of the Year: Andrew Luck, QB, Indianapolis Colts

AP Offensive Player of the Year: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

AP Defensive Player of the Year: Aaron Donald, DT, Los Angeles Rams

AP Offensive Rookie of the Year: Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants

AP Defensive Rookie of the Year: Darius Leonard, LB, Indianapolis Colts

AP Assistant Coach of the Year: Vic Fangio, Chicago Bears

FedEx Air & Ground Players of the Year: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs; Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants

Bridgestone Clutch Performance Play of the Year: Miami Miracle

Unstoppable Performance of the Year: Jared Goff, QB, Los Angeles Rams

Deacon Jones Award: Aaron Donald, DT, Los Angeles Rams

Game-Changer: Shaquem Griffin, LB, Seattle Seahawks

Salute To Service Award: Ben Garland, G, Atlanta Falcons

Built Ford Tough Offensive Line of the Year: Los Angeles Rams

Touchdown Celebration of the Year: Seattle Seahawks—Choreography

Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year Award: Gabe Infante, St. Joseph's Prep

*Full list available on NFL.com

AP Most Valuable Player

Ed Zurga/Associated Press

It should come as no surprise that Mahomes earned the NFL's top individual honor after a record-setting performance in 2018.

Mahomes set the tone for a breakout season right from the start, as he set an NFL record with 10 passing touchdowns through the first two games. With four scores in the opener and six more in Week 2, he joined Drew Bledsoe (1997) as the only players in league history to toss at least four touchdowns in each of the first two games of a season.

And he was only getting warmed up.

His 22 touchdowns marked the most ever for a player through his first eight career games, surpassing Hall of Famer Kurt Warner's (21) previous mark.

Ultimately, Mahomes shattered a number of Chiefs franchise records by completing 66 percent of his passes for 5,097 yards, 50 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He led the league in touchdown passes and finished second in passing yards. All of that comes from a player who entered the season with one career appearance, which came in a meaningless Week 17 contest in 2017.

At 23 years old, he became one of the youngest players ever to win the award, per Sportsnet Stats:

Not only were Mahomes' numbers strong, but he led Kansas City (12-4) to the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

There was no shortage of support for Mahomes after the result of the vote was announced:

The Chiefs' season may not have resulted in a Super Bowl title, but Mahomes has plenty to remember his first year as starter by.

AP Offensive Player of the Year

Ed Zurga/Associated Press

While making himself the front-runner for the NFL MVP award, Mahomes put up some astounding numbers in 2018.

The Kansas City star became just the third quarterback in NFL history to throw for 50-plus touchdown passes in a single season, joining Tom Brady (50 in 2007) and Peyton Manning (55 in 2013). And while the NFL has become a passing-friendly league through the years, no signal-caller had eclipsed the 40-mark since 2013.

While Mahomes' touchdown total was off the charts, it didn't matter where he was on the field—he was among the most prolific passers in the league this season. He became the sixth player in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards in a single season (Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger would later become the seventh player in the club).

Accomplishing one of those feats is no easy task. Managing to do both put Mahomes in exclusive company, joining Manning (2013) as the only players to pull off a 5,000-yard, 50-touchdown season in NFL history.

And Mahomes managed to do all of that in his first year as a starter in the pros.

There were plenty of players who were worthy of consideration for the Offensive Player of the Year award. However, voters clearly felt Mahomes stood out above the rest, per Around the NFL:

• Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs: 30 votes
• Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints 16 votes
• DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans: 2 votes
• Todd Gurley, RB, Los Angeles Rams: 2 votes

That was just the start of a big night for Mahomes.

AP Defensive Player of the Year

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

There was little doubt as to who the top defensive player in football was this season.

Donald made a run at Michael Strahan's single-season sack record in 2018, and although he came up short, he still had an unbelievable season. He showed why the Rams gave him a six-year, $135 million contract prior to the season by piling up a league-leading 20.5 sacks.

His previous career high? Eleven, accomplished twice.

Donald did not catch Strahan, but he did set the single-season record for sacks by a defensive tackle. The previous mark was 18 sacks, achieved by both La'Roi Glover and Keith Millard.

Per Myles Simmons of TheRams.com, Donald becomes the eighth player to win the award multiple times and just the third player in league history to win the award in back-to-back seasons. No player has ever won the award three years in a row.

Donald's dominant performance helped Los Angeles go 13-3 during the regular season and ultimately earn a spot in Sunday's Super Bowl. According to Around the NFL's Kevin Patra, Donald joins Lawrence Taylor as the only players to record 20-plus sacks and play in the Super Bowl in a single season.

As outstanding as Donald was, it was not a unanimous vote. NFL.com's David Ely reported that Chicago Bears linebacker Khalil Mack received five votes.