Patrick Mahomes’ greatness and ability to elevate his performance during clutch moments were on full display a few months ago when he rallied the Chiefs from behind to secure another Super Bowl victory. As it turns out, his consistent success in the postseason has now surpassed that of Tom Brady, who long held the title of ‘Mr. Clutch,’ as well as Drew Brees.
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According to Neil Paine of Neil’s Substack, the three-time Super Bowl champ etched his name in the annals of NFL history when Kansas City made a comeback against the Niners.
Per Paine, the NFL has seen 56 QBs involved in 125 drives in the playoffs when it was 4th Quarter or overtime, with only a minute left on the clock and the team with the ball trailed by 7 or fewer points.
Of those drives, only 40% of shot-callers were able to deliver, either tying the game or taking a lead. Brady delivered on 5 occasions during his 11 such drives, while Brees did it three times on six available occasions.
On the other hand, Mahomes, in his relatively short career, has been involved in seven such drives and has succeeded each time — a perfect record that no other quarterback has achieved in the 21st century.
In this regard, the only player Mahomes can be compared to is the GOAT Michael Jordan. Jordan made 25 game-winning shots in his NBA career. During the regular season, he delivered 9 out of 18 times in the last 24 seconds and 5 out of 10 times in the last 10 seconds.
In the playoffs, the 6-time NBA champion was 5 out of 11 on go-ahead shots in the last 5 seconds, delivering three buzzer-beaters. And who can forget his iconic “The Shot” against the Cavaliers in the 1989 playoffs?
That being said, while many fans weren’t at all surprised by Mahomes’ greatness, others still voiced their reservations.
Fans react to Mahomes’ ‘Clutch Moment’ stats
When a screenshot of Neil Paine’s article featuring Mahomes’ stats surfaced on social media, the majority flocked to the comments, proclaiming Mahomes the GOAT and praising his consistent clutch performances.
However, some skeptics questioned these data, pointing to the AFC Championship game loss against the Bengals when Mahomes failed to deliver with the ball in his hands.
Similarly, some critics have pointed out the perceived preferential treatment Mahomes and his O-line receive from game officials, who, according to these fans, often overlook holding calls. See for yourselves:
Enough said – #GOAT
— Jaguar77 (@JaguarM77) July 30, 2024
I dont know if that’s entirely accurate because does our loss to the bengals count in the AFC Championship game? The game was tied we had the ball and he threw a pick? Now if that counts it’s still 7/8 and I’ll take that all day still.
— E P (@TheStoryOf_EP) July 30, 2024
His o-line gets away with holds like no other and a better whistle than even brady did
— Bill Walsh (@westcoastrades) July 30, 2024
Tom Brady is the greatest qb of all time regardless of how much some of you you guys don’t want that to be the case
— CMK (@c_killington) July 30, 2024
Setting the fan sentiment aside, Mahomes is sprinting toward greatness and has already secured a spot on the Mount Rushmore of QBs. However, he still has a long way to go to match Brady’s seven Super Bowl wins. Until the Chiefs’ QB achieves that, no matter how many individual records he sets, he will always be like LeBron James—great, but not the GOAT.
