Why Ben Holmes‘ season is more than impressive
Ben Holmes is no stranger to European football, and in his third season on this side of the Atlantic he delivered his best yet. A Gold Bowl title, a Gold Bowl MVP award and a statistical season that holds up against anyone in the league. And he did it all in two thirds of the available playing time.
A leader from the first snap
Holmes arrived at Vienna Vikings as an experienced presence and played like one throughout the season. The Vikings were the most complete team in the league, and Holmes was at the centre of everything. Composed, precise and consistently excellent, he set the tone week after week and gave his team exactly what it needed from its quarterback.
Numbers that demand respect
193 completions, 2,699 passing yards and 33 passing touchdowns. Add seven rushing touchdowns and Holmes finishes the regular season as the second highest scorer in the entire league, behind only MVP Jameson Wang. His passing yard total placed him fifth in the league, which becomes all the more impressive when you consider what he was working with.
Two thirds of the time, all of the impact
Holmes played just 485 minutes of a possible 720 over the course of the regular season, roughly two thirds of the available playing time. He used every minute to prove his quality, and the rest he handed over to backup Nico Hrouda, giving the young quarterback the opportunity to develop and grow in a winning environment. That balance of personal performance and team-first thinking says as much about Holmes as any stat line.
Saving the best for last
When the Gold Bowl arrived, Holmes delivered once more. He led the Vikings to the inaugural AFLE title and was named Gold Bowl MVP, the perfect ending to a season that had been building toward exactly this moment. His third European campaign ended with a championship. There is not much more you can ask of a quarterback.
