‘Patrick Mahomes Has Already Surpassed Joe Montana’: Michael Irvin Speaks Up on the Chiefs’ QB’s Greatness

Patrick Mahomes has had such unimaginable success in his seven-year-long career that, in Michael Irvin’s eyes, the Chiefs quarterback has already surpassed the legendary Joe Montana.

In the latest episode of Speak!, the Dallas Cowboys legend ranked Mahomes over Montana due to Mahomes’ ability to maintain success, despite losing key players. That’s exactly what happened this season. As someone who played during the Joe Montana era, Irvin highlighted how, throughout his career, the 49ers legend was blessed with elite players around him.

Be it having the greatest WR next to him [Jerry Rice] or simply having the luxury of going from Freddy Solomon to John Taylor, the FS1 panelist argued that Montana always had great support to count on.

Patrick Mahomes, meanwhile, is still dealing with a depleted WR corps after Hill’s exit. Except for Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, and Joe Thuney, the Chiefs talisman doesn’t have a stacked, elite team next to him, as Montana’s 49ers crew did from 1979 to 1992.

The fact that Mahomes made most of his resources and is on his way to equaling Joe Montana’s Super Bowl tally in such a short NFL career is extremely impressive in Irvin’s eyes.

“Joe maintained a level of players around him… He went from Dwight Clark and Freddie Solomon to Jerry Rice and John Taylor. This other dude [Mahomes] has lost great players. I say for me, Patrick Mahomes has already surpassed Joe Montana. Can you imagine [what would have happened] if you left Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill together, with Travis Kelce?”

A few of Irvin’s arguments hit the bullseye, but some also lack key nuances. For starters, Montana played in an era when NFL defenses could be much more physical with fewer implications. Unlike today, where QBs are protected from even the slightest hits, Montana’s era was much tougher.

Similarly, comparing careers based solely on Super Bowl wins is a shallow metric. Joe Thuney, for instance, has 4 Super Bowls. Does that mean he has reached Joe Montana’s status in his position? A better way to compare the two QBs would be to evaluate their head-to-head stats.

This is where Mahomes actually shines over Montana as he reigns supreme over the 49ers legend in metrics like Completion percentage [66.6 vs 63.2], Pass Y/A [7.8 vs 7.5], Pass Y/G [288.9 vs 211.2], Interceptions [74 vs 139] and Rush Y/A [5.2 vs 3.7].

Granted, Mahomes, at this point in his career, has fewer games than Montana, but his superior performance in these weighted metrics remains impactful.