The Two-Minute Drill: It’s more than a Super Bowl for Patrick Mahomes; it’s a legacy

By Brendan Nordstrom

Tom Brady leads the way with seven Super Bowl wins. Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw follow with four each. Peyton and Eli Manning combine for four, while Joe Aikman has three and Super Bowl I MVP Bart Starr has two. We can argue whether or not QB wins are a meaningful statistic, but we can’t deny we measure a quarterback’s success based on the number of fingers they have cuffed.

One common thread slides between all of these legendary quarterbacks: they are all retired. Aikman would be hard-pressed to leave his cushy broadcast booth, Bradshaw is too busy giving away his $100,000 every Sunday, and Brady doesn’t have much more to prove. 

Patrick Mahomes II, the 10th overall selection in the 2017 draft, has built a Hall-of-Fame case for himself just six seasons into his career and five as a starter. In his first year as a starter, Mahomes earned the AP MVP award, and the year following he won the Super Bowl and its MVP award. Alongside this, he’s a five-time AFC Pro-Bowler, a three-time AFC Champion and the 2022 MVP award (which he was officially crowned last night) to decorate his trophy case. Mahomes holds a career win-loss record of 64-16 (!). For comparison, the Chicago Bears have lost 16 of their last 22 games, and the Detroit Lions once lost 16 games in a season.

But, of course, that’s just all the hardware Mahomes has. His impact as a player is bar none. He can take three unabated defensive linemen, spin and dance his way out of a sack while running for 30 more yards, laughing at your putrid attempt at pressure. You can even have Mahomes pinned inches from the ground, but he will shovel pass the ball to tight end Travis Kelce for a deflating score.

Initially, I will admit, I wasn’t the biggest Mahomes fan, but after fitting laces through the tightest windows and refusing to look at his receiver as he throws a screaming line drive to the corner of the end zone time and time again, I had to recognize his greatness. His legs are one of his greatest weapons with over 1,500 rushing yards across the past five seasons. But when Mahomes’ mobility was snatched away from him with a high ankle sprain in this year’s Divisional Round, he walked away with a 27-20 win and beat the Bengals the following week with over 300 passing yards.

For your average, everyday quarterback, these numbers would be the hallmark of an accomplished, decorated career. However, Mahomes is beginning to be viewed with a different, far more intense lens: one that evaluates the greatest players of all time. Mahomes has brought the Chiefs to the AFC title game in every single season he’s been QB1, making the Super Bowl three times and hoisting the Lombardi once.

As we are just days away from Mahomes’ third Super Bowl appearance, there is a lot at stake for his legacy. Being able to show up in the games that matter determines how you are remembered. Look at Matt Ryan, for example – an accomplished quarterback in his own right with an MVP award, four-time Pro Bowl honors, first-team All-Pro honors and a name littered up and down the NFL record book.

Yet, when the discussion of his MVP validity was presented, many scoffed. He’s no longer remembered for his heroics, but rather for his constant slip-ups on the biggest stage. Blowing a 28-3 lead in Super Bowl LI rips a hideous scar on his legacy. In just this last season with the Colts, Ryan threw 13 interceptions and blew a 33-0 lead to the Vikings. Ryan, however, was never in consideration for greatest of all time. Mahomes is. 

The heat is intensified for Mahomes with the (re)retirement of Brady this past week. The seven-time Super Bowl champion, 15-time pro-bowler, three-time MVP, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, Brady has a near-insurmountable legacy as he carries the crown of undisputed GOAT of the NFL. With Brady enjoying the crash of the Atlantic in his Florida beach house, Mahomes has the chance for the ultimate torch-passing moment. 

This game doesn’t completely defile Mahomes’ resume, nor does it make him the second-best quarterback of all time. With a win down in Arizona, Mahomes will have two Super Bowl rings and two MVP trophies in just five seasons as a starter. With such sustained success thus far in his career and years and years of flash ahead of him, Mahomes will be on a path that leads him to the promised land – the highest echelon of NFL quarterbacks. However, with a loss to a well-rounded Eagles squad, Mahomes will be looked at as the guy who has made the AFC Championship game five times, yet only has one ring to show for it, furthering the laughing stock of the so-called “Chiefs dynasty.”

Narratives are the power vessel of the sports media. The difference between “the next Tom Brady” and “another quarterback who hides in the shadow when the lights shine the brightest” is one performance on one night. It feels odd to say “legacy-defining” on a game for a quarterback still in the preschool years of his NFL career, but for Mahomes, there hasn’t been a more important game yet.