Patrick Mahomes' Undertaker-Esque record against the first-round QBs of 2018
Patrick Mahomes is the greatest quarterback of his generation. By the time he retires, he'll be in the discussion for the greatest of all time. Every week he breaks a record of some sort. Last week, he broke the record for most passing yards and touchdowns in a players' first 50 starts. However, he did it in just 47.
But Patrick Mahomes isn't looking to break just NFL records. Whether he realizes it or not, he's on an undefeated streak against first-round quarterbacks from the 2018 draft class. He's 10-0 against Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, and Josh Rosen. If you're a fan of the WWE, a certain undefeated streak may pop into your head. The streak would be the Undertaker's undefeated Wrestlemania streak.
In the midst of today's thrilling victory, Patrick Mahomes broke the NFL records for passing yards (14,489) and passing touchdowns (117) through a player's first 50 career starts.
The crazy part? This was start No. 47. The dude is rewriting the record books in front of our eyes.
The Undertaker and Patrick Mahomes are highly talented at their respective crafts
The Undertaker went 21-0 in WWE's equivalent of the Super Bowl "Wrestlemania." The streak began back in 1991 on the Undertaker's 26th birthday. From 1991 to 2013 the Undertaker won 21 matches against a variety of opponents. His final victory came 22 years later in 2013 against CM Punk.
The parallel between the Undertaker and Patrick Mahomes is noteworthy. Mahomes turned 26 on Saturday, the same age as the Undertaker's first victory. This is just his fourth year as the starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, but he's already made history numerous times over. The tweet below leads into a thread of all the surreal accomplishments on his resume already.
In honor of Patrick Mahomes’ birthday, here’s (the second-annual) look at some of my favorite stats that illustrate just how ridiculous he really is.
A thread.
Taking a closer look at the streaks and their parallels
The Undertaker and Patrick Mahomes also share the same number of victories over their biggest rivals. For example, the Undertaker defeated his biggest Wrestlemania rival Triple H in 2001, 2011, and 2012. On the NFL side, the biggest rival to Patrick Mahomes for the league's best young QB has been Lamar Jackson. Mahomes is 3-0 against Jackson and has played against him annually since 2018.
Likewise, Mahomes's biggest rival in terms of having a cannon of an arm is Josh Allen. Patrick Mahomes is 2-0 against Allen, including defeating him in the 2020 AFC Championship. Mahomes is 3-0 against Baker Mayfield after their Week 1 matchup last Sunday. He's 1-0 against Josh Rosen too.
When could Mahomes's streak end?
All undefeated streaks eventually have to come to an end. The Undertaker's streak ended in 2014 at the hands of former MMA heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.
Patrick Mahomes has two games left on his 2021 schedule with matchups against 2018 first-round QBs. On Sunday night in Week 2, Mahomes faces Jackson in Baltimore. The Baltimore Ravens are snakebitten with injuries, but will still bring their best. If Mahomes stays undefeated, his last hurdle will be Allen and the Buffalo Bills in Week 5 of Sunday Night Football.
If he wins both games, he'll move to 12-0 and only be nine wins away from matching the Undertaker. Patrick Mahomes is a once-in-a-lifetime talent, so if anyone can reach a milestone like that, it'd be him.