Patrick Mahomes and the pursuit of history
Star Black quarterbacks no longer are the exception – they’re the rule. Throughout the football season, this series will explore the prominence and impact of Black quarterbacks from the grassroots level to the NFL.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Even in the euphoria of the moment, as the Kansas City Chiefs celebrated their most recent monumental achievement, superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes was already focused on the next mountain to climb.
The NFL’s best player had just led the Chiefs to their third Super Bowl championship in five seasons by defeating the San Francisco 49ers in overtime, 25-22, in Super Bowl LVIII. While Chiefs players, coaches and support personnel shared tears of joy with their families and made “confetti angels” on the field at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Mahomes enlisted All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones, his defensive counterpart in the Chiefs’ dynasty, to join him on an historic quest: The pursuit of an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl title.
“We’re not done, dawg. I want three,” said Mahomes, standing on the makeshift stage where the Chiefs received the Vince Lombardi Trophy only moments earlier.
Said Jones, “We gotta get three.”
“No one’s ever got three,” Mahomes replied.
Against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night, the Chiefs’ pursuit of an elusive three-peat began in earnest. In a rematch of the teams that faced off in last season’s AFC Championship Game, the Chiefs barely escaped with a 27-20 victory over the visiting Ravens. Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson and tight end Isaiah Likely appeared to team up on a 10-yard touchdown pass as time expired, which would have cut the Chiefs’ lead to 27-26 pending the point-after attempt.
The touchdown, however, was overturned after replay revealed Likely had stepped out of bounds in the back of the end zone. The game-ending call enabled most in the crowd at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium to finally exhale on a night the Chiefs were celebrating winning consecutive Super Bowl championships and three in the past five seasons.
The Ravens started the drive on their 13-yard line with 1 minute 50 seconds remaining. On the previous two plays before the overturned touchdown, Jackson, the reigning Associated Press league MVP, failed to connect with Likely in the left corner of the end zone, and wide receiver Zay Flowers in the middle of the end zone, respectively. Both players were open.
Undoubtedly, those errant throws will fuel further discussion on television debate shows and sports-talk radio about Jackson’s ability to succeed in such clutch situations as a passer. Jackson played poorly in the Chiefs’ 17-10 victory over the Ravens for last season’s AFC title, completing only 20 of 37 passes.
Warren Moon, for one, wouldn’t be surprised if the Chiefs do wind up reaching their desired destination this season. Moon, the only Black quarterback enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, understands firsthand the difficulty of winning three straight games in the regular season, let alone three consecutive Super Bowl titles. For one reason, however, it would be unwise to doubt the Chiefs, Moon believes.
“That quarterback,” Moon told Andscape recently, referring to Mahomes. “So many times, people have said, ‘This is when the Chiefs finally will be [stopped].’ But it hasn’t happened. These are the types of things he feeds off [of], and his teammates feed off of him.
“The Chiefs have a lot of talented players. They have a great head coach in Andy [Reid]. And the organization supports the team, clearly. But that quarterback makes it all happen. So, yeah, it’s gonna be really hard for them to do it. That’s why no team has. But they have him.”
Ashley Landis/AP Photo
In the Super Bowl era, which began in 1967, nine teams have won consecutive titles (the Pittsburgh Steelers completed the feat twice). How difficult is it to win three in a row? Consider: None of the previous eight back-to-back champions even reached the Super Bowl a third consecutive season.
The Chiefs are positioned to buck the trend after overcoming their most trying season of the Mahomes era to become the first team since the New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004 to win consecutive championships, ending the longest stretch without a repeat champion in NFL history. The previous three defending Super Bowl winners who qualified for the game the following season, including the Chiefs in 2021, failed to repeat.
During the 2023-24 regular season, Chiefs pass-catchers led the league in dropped passes. Often, their high-powered offense stalled. Right tackle Jawaan Taylor was the NFL’s most-penalized player. In a span of four weeks in December, Kansas City suffered three losses, including a 20-17 defeat to the visiting Buffalo Bills in Week 14 that set off Mahomes publicly in a manner that the NFL had not seen since he entered the league as the Chiefs’ No. 1 pick (10th overall) in the 2017 NFL draft.
In the end, though, Mahomes, as he’s prone to do, found a way to win.
Barring major injury or other unforeseen circumstances, this iteration of the Chiefs is poised to be the best since Reid took command of the franchise before the 2013-14 season.
Through free agency and the draft, Kansas City general manager Brett Veach moved to bolster the wide receivers corps, which was, by far, the team’s weakest position group last season. Defensively, the Chiefs are among the league’s elite.
Last season, Kansas City’s defense ranked second in the NFL in yards per game (289.8), points per game (17.3) and sacks (57). And in Reid and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, the Chiefs have the league’s most successful active coaches in those roles.
It’s Mahomes, however, who drives the bus.
Jay Biggerstaff/Imagn Images
At this point, it’s laughable, as well as downright disrespectful to Mahomes, to compare him with any other active quarterback. Only 28 (Mahomes turns 29 on Sept. 17), he enters his seventh season as a starter having been selected to six Pro Bowl teams and three Associated Press All-Pro teams, including twice to the first team.
Mahomes is a three-time Super Bowl MVP. He was selected the AP NFL MVP twice. He was voted the AP Offensive Player of the Year in 2018.
With a playoff mark of 15-3, he trails only Tom Brady and Joe Montana, who have 35 and 16 postseason victories, respectively, on the career list. By any metric used to evaluate the best who have played the most important position in sports, Mahomes is now in the most exclusive group: Brady, Montana, Mahomes.
That’s it.
And in what should be a truly revolting thought for the other 31 NFL franchises trying to catch Mahomes and the Chiefs, he’s still improving, renowned quarterback coach Quincy Avery strongly contends.
“I know this seems crazy to say this, but he’s only going to keep getting better and better,” Avery told Andscape. “Even though his stats might not have reflected it, the version we saw of Pat last year was better than any previous version we’ve seen.
“He has an ability to take what defenses are giving him now, in a way that I don’t think that he did earlier in his career, that just allows him to make those special plays be even more special. He’s able to feast on the crumbs. And when gets opportunities, he does amazing things with extravagance. Again, I know it sounds crazy, but he is getting better.”
Make no mistake, the Chiefs will face major challenges as they attempt to break new ground. They will be tested. But fortunately for them, that’s when their leader is at his best.