"He wasn't scared to pull the trigger": When Patrick Mahomes was on cloud nine after 'awesome' comparison to Cowboys icon Tony Romo
Born and raised in Tyler, Texas, Patrick Mahomes grew up as a Dallas Cowboys fan and later attended Texas Tech for college. Despite his Texas roots, Mahomes was drafted 10th overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2017 NFL draft, as the Cowboys held the 28th pick.
This turned out to be a franchise-defining move for the Chiefs. In just seven seasons, Mahomes and the Chiefs have won four Super Bowl rings in six appearances.
Back in 2017, however, Mahomes likely dreamed of joining the Cowboys. Speaking on "Undisputed" that year, Mahomes revealed that he idolized Dallas quarterback Tony Romo while growing up:
“I mean, yeah, growing up in Texas, I was a big Dallas Cowboys fan, and my dad was a big Cowboys fan," Mahomes said. "I watched Romo every week of the season for his whole career. He's a great quarterback, a guy who has a ton of comeback victories.”
Mahomes admired Romo’s gunslinger approach to the game, even seeing similarities in their playing styles.
“Oh yeah, for sure," Mahomes said. "And that's what made Tony Romo so good. He wasn't scared to pull the trigger. He wasn't scared to make any throw on the football field. So just to get compared to him is awesome.”
Interestingly, Romo retired the same year Patrick Mahomes entered the NFL, and the now 44-year-old former QB is a big fan of the Chiefs QB.
Tony Romo is a huge fan of Texas native Patrick Mahomes
Earlier this year, Romo made headlines for his unconventional analysis of one of Patrick Mahomes’ throws during a game against the Bengals.
“This is Mahomes throwing it in the dirt on purpose... He's got such great instincts... He sees everything. That's a winning play,”
Romo’s commentary on CBS often sparks debate, and one area of contention is his deep admiration for Mahomes.
In Week 11, the Chiefs suffered a rare loss against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium, snapping their nine-game winning streak. While the defeat hasn’t significantly affected their position in the standings, it did challenge the notion of the Chiefs’ invincibility.
Romo had a unique perspective on the loss.
“If there is a (positive), if they had wrapped up the No. 1 seed so early, Jim, there’s a chance they wouldn’t have played their best football in the playoffs,” Romo said. “This could be a benefit possibly to have them play all the way throughout the year and keep staying in phase.”
This take was classic Romo, thinking outside the box as usual.