Despite sharing the league with MVPs like Lamar Jackson (two), Aaron Rodgers (four), and Josh Allen (one), Patrick Mahomes stands above them as the clear-cut best quarterback in the NFL. The counting stats might not always show it, but when it comes to Super Bowls and head-to-head matchups, it’s hard to deny that this is the era of Mahomes. So, what exactly makes him so great?
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Several things make Mahomes special. But even his biggest fans have to admit that his personal stats have dipped a bit over the past two seasons. In 2023, he threw 27 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, a career high. Then last year, he tied a career low with 26 touchdowns while throwing 11 interceptions, and he was sacked a career-high 36 times.
Still, that doesn’t mean Mahomes isn’t an amazing quarterback. Even with average play by his standards, he’s gone 25-7 in those seasons. Not to mention, he just led the Kansas City Chiefs to three straight Super Bowls. And according to another GOAT, Tom Brady, this is because Mahomes has an ability few others possess.
“He’s had 2 really tough Super Bowls… He’s just a tremendous field general, and he’s got a great ability,” Brady shared on PFF. The New England Patriots legend then pinpointed what that special ability is.
“When the teammates get in the huddle with him, they have a belief in him that I think is greater than the belief that the other players have in their quarterbacks,” Brady added.
The GOAT even suggested that elite quarterbacks should have the full trust of their teams, like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow. But Mahomes is the only one who can back it up with proof of championships. The other three are great, but they’re still searching for theirs.
Brady also noted that even though the Chiefs were just plastered by the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl, Mahomes will need to use that tough loss as motivation.
“Yeah, those Super Bowl losses are very discouraging, and they’re tough. But, again, Patrick needs to use that to his advantage going forward,” Brady said.
Mahomes’ other Super Bowl loss came at the hands of Brady in 2021. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers used a similar strategy to the Eagles to get the job done, blitzing Mahomes heavily and forcing him to run for his life on nearly every play. It worked both times.
But Mahomes bounced back from that loss to Brady and used it as motivation to win two more Lombardi Trophies. Now, he needs to do the same again, and Brady seemingly believes he will.
“You can’t ever forget those. Those Super Bowl losses were the worst of my life. All 3 of them. I thought they were nightmares; I still think about them, they still bother me. If they come up on television, I turn the channel as fast as I can,” Brady said.
One has to wonder if Brady still sees Nick Foles in his sleep some nights.
Jokes aside, it’s a great perspective from the former QB that offers insight into how Mahomes might be feeling and how he should approach the new season. Even though most NFL fans are tired of him and the Chiefs winning all the time, they’re entering the year with a massive chip on their shoulder and shouldn’t be going away anytime soon.
All in all, there’s a multitude of arguments one could make to encapsulate Mahomes’ greatness. But it’s always been signified by one constant notion: winning.
The man is 89-23 all-time in the regular season, and 17-4 in the playoffs. That type of winning is unprecedented in the NFL, and it goes to show how poised Mahomes is under pressure. Last season, he led the league with 5 fourth-quarter comebacks, a stat that Brady regularly owned throughout his career.
