Where Does Mahomes Rank Amongst Quarterbacks In NFL History?
Patrick Mahomes plays in his third Super Bowl in four years when the Kansas City face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday February 12th.
Drafted 10th overall in 2017, it has been a fantastic six-year spell for Mahomes in Kansas City. He played just once in his rookie season, but since he has missed just three games.
In the five seasons that have followed his rookie season, Mahomes and the Chiefs have played in the AFC Championship every year and have hosted each time. This is an incredible achievement.
Against the Eagles, Mahomes has the chance to become just the 18th quarterback in league history to win a second Super Bowl. But where would this win put him amongst the NFL’s best?
Catching Up Brady: The Impossible Task
When Mahomes came up against Tom Brady in Superbowl 55, it was deemed a matchup between the GOAT and KID.
He would have been the first quarterback since Brady in 2004 to win back-to-back Super Bowls. Having two rings, being four behind Brady and at the age of 25 years old, it was seen that Mahomes has every chance to catch him up. When you have Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill to throw to, a prospect seemingly no one knew how to stop at the time, there was plenty of talks that he could potentially overtake Brady one day as the GOAT.
However, Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers comfortably beat the Chiefs 31-9 and with Brady now retired, there is no chance for Mahomes to beat Brady in a Super Bowl rematch.
Even with a win next Sunday, Mahomes, 27, would still be five rings behind Brady and with the talent in the AFC, it will be a hard task to every try and level that. Even if he does and the stats are better, there will always be the narrative that he lost to Brady in their one and only Super Bowl matchup.
Whilst Mahomes may never reach the GOAT status, he definitely has the chance to be seen as one of the best quarterbacks of all time.
Breaking Records
Mahomes’ career so far has been crazy and he has set record after record.
Aside from the records, he has been named MVP and Super Bowl MVP, is a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro.
The Super Bowl 55 loss was his first double-digit loss in the NFL, at the 54th time of asking, something he has only done twice in the two seasons that have followed.
In the NFL, Mahomes is tied for the most consecutive 300-plus passing yard games (8) and most passing touchdowns in a postseason (11).
He is the fastest player to reach 10,000 (34 games), 15,000 (49 games) and 20,000 (67 games) career passing yards as well as being the quarterback to reach 100 career touchdowns in the quickest time (40 games). No one has overcome more consecutive double-digit deficits in the regular season and postseason (6) and this season he became the youngest to reach 30 post-season touchdowns.
Mahomes has the current record for a career quarterback rating and passing yards per game for those with a minimum of 1,500 attempts. No one has had more passing touchdowns in a postseason (12) and had more passing yards (15,348) or touchdowns (125) in their first 50 games.
It is not just the NFL where Mahomes has set records. He has also set many franchise records. He currently holds Chiefs records for passing yards in a season, in a playoff game and touchdown passes in both a game (6) and a season (50). No Chiefs quarterback has had more rushing touchdowns (12), passing yards in a season (5,250), or passing yards in any playoff game (404).
Comparing To Other NFL Greats
When it comes to the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time, a few spring to mind. There is Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Dan Marino, John Elway, Steve Young, Brett Favre, and Aaron Rodgers.
Mahomes is nowhere near the status of Montana, due to the numbers and the four Super Bowls the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback won during his illustrious career. Along with the impact he has had on the game and the role of the quarterback, Manning has two Super Bowls and the third-most career passing yards of all time.
Marino may never have had the Super Bowl win or been in the current era that so heavily favours the passing game, but the fact he never won the big one will always be something that affects his legacy. Whilst the likes of Joe Flacco, Nick Foles and Eli Manning have all won at least one Super Bowl, Mahomes’ ability is on par with Marino. No one had a greater arm in league history than the former Dolphins QB until Mahomes entered the league.
Mahomes has the talent of Rodgers and with a win in Super Bowl 57, he would most likely eclipse the Green Bay Packers QB. After all, Rodgers has had just one Super Bowl appearance. Mahomes has had three by the age of 27 with no signs of slowing down.
Steve Young had a great 15-year career, but only had two seasons with more than 30 passing touchdowns. Mahomes has had four in his first six. Brett Favre shared a cannon arm but his interception ratio goes against him in comparisons.
Mahomes is arguably already in the top ten of all time. Whilst a win against Philadelphia would not see him come even close to Brady or Montana, a second ring would put him in the top five.