Patrick Mahomes returns to the Super Bowl.
This was supposed to be the first really bad year in the Chiefs’ dynasty, as Kansas City lacked notable receiving talent and Mahomes had his worst season as a starting quarterback. On top of that, the Chiefs were forced to play on the road in the playoffs for the first time in the Mahomes era.
It still didn’t matter. All Kansas City did was shut down the mighty Dolphins, outlast the Bills in Buffalo and smother the No. 1-seeded Ravens in Baltimore to punch their ticket to a second straight Super Bowl appearance and fourth in five years for Mahomes.
This fourth Super Bowl appearance has sparked an initial debate for Mahomes: Where does he fit in the GOAT (greatest of all time) conversation? Tom Brady is currently the undisputed GOAT, but Mahomes’ play and postseason success has propelled him into the conversation with Brady.
Where does Mahomes really stand in the debate with Brady? This is what he needs to know.
(All statistics are current as of January 28, 2024)
Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes: Regular Season Stats
Let’s be clear, Mahomes is nowhere near Brady in terms of counting stats. Brady is the all-time leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, completions, attempts and quarterback wins.
When it comes to fee statistics, Mahomes takes almost all the leads. Mahomes is the current NFL record holder for yards per game, is second in passer rating and is tied for seventh all-time in yards per attempt, all considerably ahead of Brady, whose largest sample size will reduce those index statistics.
As for the rush, well, anyone who has seen Brady run knows what these numbers are going to be like. Admittedly, Brady was a standout quarterback and had a good amount of rushing yards in his career, but Mahomes is a much more dangerous wrestler.
| Tom Brady | statistics | Patrick Mahomes |
| 335 | Games | 96 |
| 89,214 | passing yards | 28,424 |
| 649 | Passing TD | 219 |
| 212 | Interceptions | 63 |
| 64.3% | Completion percentage | 66.5% |
| 251 | QB wins | 74 |
| 7.4 | Yards per attempt | 7.9 |
| 266.3 | Yards per game | 296.1 |
| 97.2 | Classification | 103.5 |
| 693 | hasty attempts | 374 |
| 1,123 | Fast yards | 1936 |
| 28 | fast TDs | 12 |
How about the first seven years of your respective careers? Mahomes may not yet be on Brady’s level in terms of his career (Brady played 23 years in the NFL), but he is off to a considerably better start.
| Tom Brady | statistics | Patrick Mahomes |
| 96 | Games | 96 |
| 21,564 | passing yards | 28,424 |
| 147 | Passing TD | 219 |
| 78 | Interceptions | 63 |
| 61.9% | Completion percentage | 66.5% |
| 70 | QB wins | 74 |
| 7.0 | Yards per attempt | 7.9 |
| 224.6 | Yards per game | 296.1 |
| 88.4 | Classification | 103.5 |
| 239 | hasty attempts | 374 |
| 435 | Fast yards | 1936 |
| 3 | fast TDs | 12 |
The rest of the career is impossible to compare because Mahomes hasn’t reached that stage yet, but Brady was significantly better over the remaining 16 years of his career than he was over the first seven.
He averaged 283.1 yards per game, 7.5 yards per attempt, completed 65.2 percent of his passes and had a touchdown/interception ratio of 502 to 134 (3.7 compared to 1.9 at the start of the season). his career).
Mahomes is off to a good start, but finishing like Brady will be a challenge on another level.
Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes: Playoff stats
Brady’s playoff stats would be a career highlight in the regular season for most quarterbacks, but Mahomes’ postseason run has been impressive as well. He has never missed a conference championship game as a starter and has an impressive 14-3 record in the playoffs.
His stats are good enough that if they had been in a 17-game regular season, he probably would have tied Brady for his third MVP.
| Tom Brady | statistics | Patrick Mahomes |
| 48 | Games | 17 |
| 1,200 | Terminations | 422 |
| 1921 | Attempts | 626 |
| 62.5% | Completion percentage | 67.4% |
| 13,400 | passing yards | 4,802 |
| 88 | Passing TD | 39 |
| 40 | Interceptions | 7 |
| 89.8 | Classification | 106.3 |
| 114 | Quick attacks | 81 |
| 133 | Fast yards | 458 |
| 7 | fast TDs | 5 |
Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes: face to face
Football is a team game, but it is inevitable that when comparing two players, particularly quarterbacks, it is the head-to-head encounters that are the most memorable.
They have faced each other in six games in total. Mahomes has owned the regular season with a 3-1 record in those games, but in the playoffs, Brady takes the lead with a perfect 2-0 record that includes a win in the AFC championship and a win in the Super Bowl.
Neither player recorded a sack, interception or tackle in the head-to-head meetings to impact the way their teams played defensively, but here’s a look at how each quarterback performed in the games against each other.
| Tom Brady | Game | Patrick Mahomes |
| 24-35, 340 yards, 1 touchdown | October 14, 2018: Patriots 43Bosses 40 | 23-36, 352 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs |
| 30-46, 348 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT | 2019 AFC Champion: Patriots 37, bosses 31 | 16-31, 295 yards, 3 TDs |
| 19-36, 169 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT | December 8, 2019: bosses 23, Patriots 16 | 26-40, 283 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| 27-41, 345 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs | November 29, 2020: bosses 27, Buccaneers 24 | 37-49, 462 yards, 3 TDs |
| 21-29, 201 yards, 3 TDs | Super Bowl 55: Buccaneers 31, bosses 9 | 26-49, 270 yards, 2 INT |
| 39-52, 385 yards, 3 TDs | October 2, 2022: Bosses 41, Buccaneers 31 | 23-27, 249 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT |
Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes: recognitions and awards
Brady has more awards and more rings than Mahomes in his career. He also got off to a better start in terms of winning rings. However, Mahomes has achieved more personal accolades early in his career than Brady achieved at the same stage.
Brady didn’t win an MVP until his eighth season in the league. Mahomes, over seven years, already has two MVPs. Brady had only two Pro Bowl nods in his first seven seasons. Mahomes has six.
Once again, Brady’s longevity plays a big role in why he is considered the GOAT and to this point, he wins handily in the accolades department.
| Tom Brady | Accolade | Patrick Mahomes |
| 7 | Super Bowl rings | 2 |
| 3 | MVP | 2 |
| 5 | Super Bowl MVP | 2 |
| fifteen | Pro Bowls | 6 |
| 2 | OPOY | 1 |
Who is the GOAT: Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes?
There are many variables that will be taken into account in the discussion of who is the GOAT of the NFL. Mahomes will have the benefit of playing in a different era, with new rules that are beneficial for quarterbacks. He will also have the added benefit of an extra regular season game each year to help bolster his regular season passing stats. He is also playing in a Golden Age of Quarterbacks, where there are several QBs currently advocating to be rivals a la Peyton Manning or Drew Brees.
Mahomes is off to a good start, and making him a conversation starter this early in his career speaks to the greatness he’s shown. The eye test might say he’s already a more talented quarterback than Brady at any point in his Hall of Fame career, but it takes more than skill for him to be the GOAT. To be considered the greatest of all time, Mahomes still has to build up that resume before he’s ready to truly challenge Brady.
