What Mahomes Must Do to Pass Brady in GOAT Debate, By the Numbers

If Patrick Mahomes is able to guide the Kansas City Chiefs to a win in the Super Bowl on Sunday evening in Tampa Bay, he’ll enter rarefied air with John Elway, Eli Manning, Roger Staubach, Bob Greise, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, Bart Starr and Jim Plunkett as just the ninth quarterback in NFL history with two championships to his name.

He’ll still trail Terry Bradshaw (four), Joe Montana (four), and Troy Aikman (three), in terms of titles but, at just 25 years old and only in his third year as a starter in the NFL, Mahomes will be well on his way to catching or surpassing them. Should Mahomes win, he’ll also be one ring closer to catching his opponent in Super Bowl LV, Tom Brady, and his six (and counting) titles.

Though it seems far too early to even talk about it given Brady has played in the NFL for more than two decades and Mahomes has not even made it through half of one as a professional quarterback, a win for the young superstar QB — who some call the Baby Goat — would also put him a bit closer to eventually catching or possibly surpassing Brady in the great GOAT debate.

After all, if Brady wins on Sunday he’ll have a 7-1 advantage over Mahomes in Super Bowl victories heading into next season, a much tougher margin for the challenger to overcome than 6-2.

In addition to closing the difference in wins to four instead of allowing it to expand to six, Mahomes would also have a head-to-head win over Brady in the Super Bowl if he notches a victory, a possible tiebreaker should they both finish with six career titles.

Titles aside, Mahomes is already well on his way to eventually passing Brady in nearly every important statistical category, though it should be noted he is playing his career in an era where NFL offenses are throwing the ball and scoring more points than ever before.

Compare the two quarterbacks through their first four seasons in the NFL.

Brady: 34-12, 10,223 passing yards, 69 TDs, 38 interceptions, two Super Bowls

Mahomes: 38-8, 14,152 passing yards, 114 TDs, 24 interceptions, two Super Bowls

Statistically, Mahomes is already blowing Brady out of the water — except in winning percentage and Super Bowl appearances. And, at the end of the day, those are the categories that matter.

In Brady’s two first Super Bowls, he emerged as the winner. If Mahomes is able to equal that feat by beating Brady on Sunday, he’ll be substantially closer to one day catching him on the NFL’s list of champions. If Mahomes doesn’t win Super Bowl LV, he’ll still probably pass Brady on many of the NFL’s all-time passing lists, but it will be much more difficult for him to supplant the 43-year-old as the GOAT.