Masuk Free Press

As the celebrations grew louder, the clock got ever so close to triple 0s and fans began singing “Fly Eagles Fly,” the Philadelphia Eagles completed the ultimate achievement. On Feb. 9 in New Orleans, the Eagles became champions. With the Super Bowl now in the past, the Philadelphia Eagles, led by Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts, have won their second Championship in franchise history. The Eagle’s defense swarmed the Chief’s offense, causing all sorts of distortion and forcing Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs to be on the losing end, destroying their chance at winning three Lombardi Trophies in a row in an embarrassing fashion. Following the game, how does Patrick Mahomes’ pitiful performance affect his legacy and his case to become the greatest quarterback ever to play?

Mahomes is undoubtedly regarded as one of the most talented quarterbacks of all time, as his resumé is still up there with the best of the best. At age 29, he has won three Super Bowls, taken home two regular season MVPs, three Super Bowl MVPs and has thrown for over 32,352 yards and 245 touchdowns. That averages out to over 4,911 yards and 37 touchdowns every year. For reference, Tom Brady’s averages included 4,527 yards and 33 touchdowns. For even further comparison, an average/competent quarterback like Dak Prescott has career averages of 4,381 yards and 30 touchdowns over around the same period that Mahomes has been active. Furthermore, Mahomes, on average, throws 400 yards more than Tom Brady did and 600 more than Dak Prescott. That’s around 2-3 games worth of stats. One can say that Mahomes is on track to become the most accomplished quarterback ever. Most quarterbacks never get the chance to play in one Super Bowl, let alone five.

Mahomes’ illustrious career up to this point does not excuse his dismal performance in this most recent Super Bowl though. His stat line included the following: 21/32 completion, 257 passing yards, three touchdowns (all coming late in the game after it was already decided) and two interceptions. Maybe this isn’t the worst stat line ever, and maybe the offensive line was crumbling while his receivers were dropping passes. But still, with someone who has the pedigree of Patrick Mahomes, it is very hard to not catch the blame for a 40-22 loss. Especially when your team was trailing 34-6 at the end of the third quarter, and you entered the second half with zero points on the board. 

Mahomes, however, is still on pace to become the best of all time. His absurd amount of accolades, accomplishments and statistics have exceeded hall-of-fame-type legends already. 

“If he wants to cement himself as the GOAT, he has to do things the GOAT never has done, which he wasn’t able to do in this Super Bowl,” said sophomore Akshaj Yerrigudi. “He just needs to lock in.” 

If Mahomes flames out and gets overpassed by Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen or Joe Burrow, he would still be a Hall of Famer. The only quarterbacks to have beaten Mahomes in the playoffs come down to three names: Tom Brady (once in the AFC championship and once in the Superbowl), Joe Burrow (once in the AFC championship) and most recently Jalen Hurts in this past Super Bowl. Mahomes also has never been sent home before the second round of the NFL playoffs. What he has done is comparable to notable players such as Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Michael Jordan, and, so far, exceeds Tom Brady. Brady has a Super Bowl record of 7-3, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles once and the New York Giants twice. Mahomes, up to this point, has a 3-2 record in the Super Bowl, with losses from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Philadelphia Eagles. Mahomes is on track to pass up Brady, which would de facto make him the GOAT. 

Even with the disappointment that was Mahomes’ most recent performance, there’s no denying that he’s the best quarterback currently in the league, and still en route to becoming the definition of greatness. As for how he can catch Brady? There’s no glaring flaw in Mahomes or the Chiefs that could make anyone think that he doesn’t have the capabilities to do so. This is demonstrated by how he and the Chiefs have never been defeated in the playoffs before the AFC title game. Even with a down year stat-wise, he still quarterbacked his team to a 15-2 record, a number-one seed in the playoffs, and yet another Super Bowl appearance. Regardless of how he played, Mahomes is most definitely still on his way to becoming the GOAT. 

There are a lot of good quarterbacks in the NFL. How are they affected by his game? First, let’s look at the man who beat Mahomes: Jalen Hurts. Hurts was able to get his revenge, as two years ago in Super Bowl LVII, it was Mahomes beating Hurts in a thrilling 38-35 bout. With a split record, Hurts now has two Super Bowl appearances. The Eagles still have a phenomenal roster, and no doubt Hurts has a couple more championships in him, since he is still very young. Next, Josh Allen is unvictorious against Mahomes in the playoffs, sitting with a 0-4 record. It always seems that Allen will finally take the Buffalo Bills to the big game, but then some Mahomes magic occurs, preventing that possibility. However, Allen, who just won his first MVP award, should not be concerned, as he just has way too much talent to never get over the hump. In addition, quarterbacks such as Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, C.J. Stroud and Jared Goff all have supporting casts that are capable of going all the way to the Super Bowl. What this game proved was that the Chiefs are beatable; you just have to play perfectly against them, which is what the Eagles did in order to end the potential three-peat.

Mahomes is still on his quest to become one of the greatest to ever throw a football, and his legacy is still immaculate. Alas, his performance proved that with the right roster construction, the villains of the NFL that the Chiefs have become these past couple of years do have a weakness, it just takes flawless play, immaculate decision-making and perfect execution.