Patrick Mahomes Is Still Brett Favre 2.0
The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off a difficult Super Bowl loss, in which the team played arguably their worst game of the Patrick Mahomes era. Due to this loss, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs missed the opportunity to join Tom Brady and the New England Patriots as the only back-to-back Super Bowl champions of this century. Despite the crushing loss, Patrick Mahomes cemented his status as this generation's Brett Favre.
Patrick Mahomes is undeniably the complete QB talent (just look at the throw above). In total honesty, this game was over the moment Antonio Brown scored to put the Buccaneers up 15 going into the half.
But the presence of Patrick Mahomes led many to believe Kansas City were still in this despite shaky o-line play, receivers failing to get open, and Tom Brady waltzing through their defense whenever he wanted. Yet that's the type of talent Mahomes has. He makes the impossible feel possible.
1997 Brett Favre vs 2021 Patrick Mahomes
In 1997, Brett Favre was coming off a 3rd straight MVP, had just made a third straight first-team All-Pro appearance, and somehow snuck an Offensive Player of the Year honor in there as well.
Back then, it was widely accepted that this kid out of Southern Miss with a rocket arm, who had all the charisma and all the intangibles, was probably the most talented thrower of the football in the history of the sport.
That season, the NFL's new "it" kid met the old one as the Green Bay Packers faced the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 32.
Brett Favre, throughout the game, tried as best he could to will the Packers to victory but simply lost to a more talented outfit (the 1997 Packers team produced two Hall of Famers while their opponent the Denver Broncos produced 5).
This victory was a God-sent to Elway. He had his legacy certified by finally winning a championship and kickstarting a late career peak that was one of the most lauded in NFL history.
In 2021, the new face of the NFL in Patrick Mahomes met the old one, Tom Brady in Super Bowl 55. In a repeat of Super Bowl 32, the more talented (and healthier) team emerged victorious in a career-defining win for the older quarterback.
In 1997, a 3-time MVP probably didn't realize he was playing in his last Super Bowl, at the tender QB age of 28, but that's exactly what happened. Winning a Super Bowl is extremely difficult. So many things have to go right or break your way and usually those breaks just don't happen.
Many of Brady's peers, such as Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers, have only ever gone to one Super Bowl. Luckily for us, Mahomes just graced his second one and the team is still loaded enough to have another go at it in the next three to four years.
But the possibility of this being 'it' for Mahomes isn't as low as many would think. Yet, I still believe in Mahomes to continue doing the impossible and usher in a new dynasty this decade.
Patrick Mahomes Is Brett Favre 2.0
In 1997, Brett Favre had a quarterback's coach by the name of Andy Reid. From 1998 until 2018, he was undoubtedly the greatest QB Coach Reid ever had the opportunity to work with.
That was until he found his own Favre in Patrick Mahomes for the Kansas City Chiefs. The necessary rocket arm, leadership and charisma were all in a polished state when Patrick Mahomes made his debut in the 2018 NFL season. But what separates him from Favre is that Mahomes is already a superior decision maker early into his career.
Also Read: When was Mahomes picked in the draft?
This single trait gives Mahomes the edge over Favre and makes the Kansas City Chiefs a perpertual contender as long as he stays healthy. Brett Favre routinely threw the Packers back into games they, as a team, had no business being in. He was also guilty of throwing them back into contests/ L's when they should've been running away with the game.
With Patrick Mahomes, the latter simply isn't true while the former was in full effect yesterday. The Kansas City Chiefs had no business making mutuals, rivals and fans alike feel like they were still in that game. It was down to Mahomes continuing to be a ridiculous thrower of the football and he made 5 of the most impressive incompletions in NFL history.
Thanks to this combo of immense talent, elite decision making, the right coach, GM, roster and all the intangibles, the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes are in the perfect position to rip off 10 more years of contention.
Today, many had to accept that maybe Mahomes won't touch 7 rings like Brady but he is definitely still the most talented QB we've seen thus far. As long as he remains healthy that nothing is out of the question.
