Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is back on the NFL mountaintop — with all-time greats
Patrick Mahomes said he should be ready to participate in organized team activities after playing through much of the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl run on a sprained ankle..
But he acknowledged there is at least one downside to his gutsy championship performance.
“One thing that might take a hit is my golf game. So, I’ll have to take a few weeks off of that,” he joked at his Super Bowl Most Valuable Player news conference Monday morning.
In rallying Kansas City from a 10-point, halftime deficit to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35, in Super Bowl 57 on Sunday night, Mahomes further stamped a legacy that, at just the prime age of 27, is Hall of Fame worthy and puts him in the pantheon of all-time greats.
In earning Super Bowl MVP honors with his three-touchdown performance, Mahomes became the sixth player in NFL history to win the award multiple times, joining Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw and Bart Starr. Mahomes also became the second-youngest person to win multiple Super Bowl MVP awards, trailing only Brady.
And he joined Brady and Montana as the only players in league history to win multiple league MVP awards and Super Bowls.
During a second half in which the Chiefs outscored the Eagles 24-11 to capture their second championship in four years, Mahomes’ 26-yard scamper to place Kansas City in field goal range was the defining play in a career already full of wizard-like highlights.
“He grew up in a locker room. He’s seen the greats and he strives to be the greatest,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said of Mahomes. “Without saying anything, that’s the way he works. He wants to be the greatest player ever. That’s what he wants to do, and that’s the way he goes about his business.
“He does it humbly. There’s no bragging. He could stand up here and give you these stats that are incredible that he’s had, but he is never go doing to that. That’s just not him, and we appreciate that. Then when it’s time for the guys around him to raise their game, he helps them with that. The great quarterbacks make everybody around him better, including the head coach, so he’s done a heck of a job.”
Mahomes’ greatness has never been questioned. But with the team’s trade of wide receiver Tyreek Hill last offseason and the ascent of multiple young, talented quarterbacks in the AFC, Kansas City faced a daunting path to keep their perch atop the conference.
And yet, Mahomes produced arguably his best season yet. He led the league in passing yards and touchdowns, leaning on a host of skill position players that included under-the-radar veterans, rookies and his trusted target, tight end Travis Kelce. Since Mahomes became a starter in 2018, Kansas City has always made the conference championship game and despite the influx of talented in the AFC, they returned again, getting revenge on the Cincinnati Bengals to return to the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs are already betting favorites to repeat — a feat that has not been accomplished since the 2004 Patriots — and it’s understandable. The team has fused their veteran-led team with young contributors that should only improve. And though a report surfaced that Reid could retire if he led the Chiefs to another Super Bowl win, the 24-year head coach brushed off any intentions of leaving.
“I didn’t put too much thought in that. I’m enjoying what I’m doing. I’ve got this pretty good player, too,” he said.
And at the center of it all is Mahomes, the preeminent talent of his generation who has emerged as the face of the league in the last half-decade.
“It’s been an amazing run these last five, six years,” Mahomes said, “and let’s keep it rolling.”
