By Pranay Malempati | Sports Writer
While it takes a team full of special players and coaches to win a Super Bowl, the Chiefs’ driving force this season has been superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
After being drafted in the first round in 2017 and sitting out an entire season, Mahomes did something unbelievable. In 2018, his first season as a starting NFL quarterback, Mahomes won the league’s Most Valuable Player award. That year, Mahomes became just the seventh player to throw for 5,000 yards and the just the third player to pass for 50 touchdowns in a season.
He then led the Chiefs to their first AFC Championship game appearance since 1993 and came one overtime coin-flip away from leading the Chiefs to a Super Bowl.
This year, he proved that his first season was not just a fluke. While eventual MVP Lamar Jackson was busy lighting it up on the field and impressing fans, Mahomes was as steady as ever. In just 14 games, he threw for 4,000 yards and 26 touchdowns, with only five interceptions.
He then led an incredible comeback against the Houston Texans in the playoffs. After starting out down 24-0, Mahomes threw five touchdowns. He followed that up with another comeback against the Titans in the AFC Championship, taking Kansas City to their first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years.
And on Sunday night, after looking slow and inaccurate for three quarters of the game, Mahomes showed his inner Tom Brady. He turned his game on in the brightest of moments, and led a 10-point, fourth-quarter comeback to help head coach Andy Reid and the Chiefs capture a Super Bowl championship.
But it would do Mahomes injustice to simply describe his play with stats. The way Mahomes throws the ball, the way he controls it and puts in anywhere he wants on the field, is something we have never seen before. The closest to come to his talent is Aaron Rodgers, but Mahomes is even more athletic and more dynamic than Rodgers.
On top of that, Mahomes is a winner. In his first two seasons as a starter, Mahomes has a 23-7 record in the regular season to go along with a 4-1 record in the postseason. He has won regular season and Super Bowl MV awards on top of his Super Bowl championship. The man is only 24-years-old.
Patrick Mahomes could be the best quarterback to ever play the game of football. He is the best quarterback to ever step on an NFL field. He combines the ridiculous arm talent of Aaron Rodgers with the never-dying clutch gene of Tom Brady. He is unstoppable and he is unshakeable.
Yes, Mahomes has a long way to go to be the greatest quarterback to every play the game. He has to win a lot more games and rings and MVP trophies. But based on what he has already done in such little time, there is no doubt that he can pull off everything necessary to pass Peyton Manning and Joe Montana and yes, even Tom Brady.
Brady better enjoy the throne while he sits on it because Patrick Mahomes is coming. When his career is all said and done, Patrick Mahomes will be the greatest football player of all time.
