With his fifth Super Bowl appearance in six seasons, Patrick Mahomes has solidified his place as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. And his career in the league is just eight seasons old. Averaging an all-time best 288.9 passing yards per game, the G.O.A.T. debate appears to have narrowed down to just two names. It is all about the Kansas City Chiefs star, and the man who bested him in Super Bowl LV, Tom Brady, believes Maxx Crosby.
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Crosby pointed out that no quarterback has ever had a more dominant start to their NFL career than Mahomes. “No human being has done what he’s done. In my opinion, he’s the second greatest already,” said the Las Vegas Raiders star pass rusher in his podcast, The Rush.
That’s placing Mahomes ahead of some big names, including Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and John Elway. But Crosby’s take is justified by Mahomes’ exemplary record.
“He just passed Joe Montana for the second most playoff wins ever. He is the second greatest quarterback of all time, in my opinion, already. You can’t even argue it… there’s no Joe Montana, there’s no Peyton Manning… He’s already passed them, in my opinion,” he added.
Mahomes’ resume currently includes six Pro Bowls, two MVP awards, an Offensive Player of the Year award, three Super Bowl championships, and three Super Bowl MVP awards. He also boasts a regular season record of 89-23. The Texas Tech alum has collected 32,352 passing yards, 245 passing touchdowns, and 2,778 completions while maintaining a career completion percentage of 66.6%.
Now let’s get to the best part: the direct comparison with Brady. The New England Patriots legend compiled four Pro Bowls, one MVP award, an Offensive Player of the Year award, three Super Bowl Championships, and two Super Bowl MVP awards in his first eight years in the league. He accumulated 26,370 passing yards, 197 passing touchdowns, and 2,294 completions, with a completion percentage of 63%.
If Mahomes claims his fourth Super Bowl by defeating the Philadelphia Eagles at Super Bowl LIX on February 9, he’ll officially have a better start to his career than Brady.
That said, Brady did manage to find a 31-9 victory over Mahomes and the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. So there is that head-to-head bragging rights that will always favor the Patriots star.
However, given the rate at which Mahomes is currently operating, he would surpass the G.O.A.T. in the coming years.
With his current average, another 15 years of Mahomes would generate an astounding 106,017 passing yards, dwarfing the 89,214 passing yards posted by Brady throughout his 23-year career. Likewise, Mahomes is currently on pace to finish a 23-year career with 800 total passing touchdowns. Brady had 649 in his career.
Whether fans are enjoying the lack of parity in this Mahomes era seems an irrelevant question. The gunslinging QB is primed to erase all QB records that stand before him.
Given his current rate of play, there is not a single underlying metric that suggests that the legacy of Brady can stave off the impending Mahomes invasion. Every key statistical category indicates that this is not a matter of if, but simply a matter of when. And we are watching history unfold right before us.
