GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If Patrick Mahomes were to wake up tomorrow and decide that he wants to retire from football, you could make a strong case that the 27-year-old has already done enough in his career to earn a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Not only did Mahomes win his second Super Bowl on Sunday, but he did it with one of the gutsiest performances of his career, and it's a performance that earned him a second career Super Bowl MVP after the Chiefs beat the Eagles, 38-35.
With just under two minutes left to play in the first half, Mahomes re-injured his ankle. At that point, Kansas City's season looked to be all but over.
The Eagles would score one more time in the second quarter to take a 24-14 halftime lead, and there was no reason to think Mahomes was going to be able to muster any magic in the second half on a bad ankle. Mahomes didn't do much before the ankle injury -- he threw for just 89 yards in the first half -- so it seemed unlikely that he would be able to do anything with an ankle injury. However, as we've learned time and again over the course of his career, you can never count out Mahomes. Whatever magic beans he was given to heal his ankle at the half, they definitely worked, because Mahomes was magical in the second half.
The Chiefs had four possessions in the second half and they scored on each one, which is notable, because it was the first time in 94 career starts where Mahomes led the Chiefs to a score on every drive in a second half. And he did it IN THE SUPER BOWL on a bad ankle while playing a nearly perfect half, going 13 of 14 for 126 total yards and two passing touchdowns.
Every time the Chiefs needed a big play in the second half, Mahomes gave it to them. You want a touchdown pass on a third-down play in the fourth quarter? Mahomes did that.
TIE GAME. HERE WE GO.
— NFL (@NFL) February 13, 2023
📺: #SBLVII on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/d8gBDzRt2m pic.twitter.com/kibzBw5WYe
You want a 26-yard scramble with the Super Bowl on the line late in the fourth quarter of a tie game? Mahomes gave us that, too.
MAHOMES MAGIC.
— NFL (@NFL) February 13, 2023
📺: #SBLVII on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/d8gBDzRt2m pic.twitter.com/vmY7LQ1dnj
Mahomes didn't put up eye-popping numbers (21 of 27 for 226 total yards and three TD passes), but he was in total control the entire game and came up with clutch play after clutch play, which is why he was voted Super Bowl MVP.
At 27 years old, he might not quite be in the conversation for the best quarterback of all-time, but he's certainly inching his way there. Tom Brady currently holds that title, but Mahomes is already doing things that Brady never did.
- Mahomes won regular-season MVP and the Super Bowl in the same year. Brady never did that.
- Mahomes led the NFL in passing yards and won the Super Bowl in the same year. Brady never did that. (Actually, no QB in NFL history had ever done that before this year.)
- Mahomes has now won two Super Bowls MVPs and two regular-season MVPs in a five-year span. Brady never did that. (Actually, no QB in NFL history has ever done that.)
- Mahomes now has two comebacks of at least 10 points in the Super Bowl, which ties Brady for the most ever.
- Mahomes has two Super Bowl wins, two Super Bowl MVPs, two regular-season MVPs, and he's appeared in five straight conference title games. And he's done all that in just five years as a starter.
What the Chiefs quarterback is doing is nothing short of amazing. He's already doing things that most Hall of Fame quarterbacks never accomplished.
After Brady won his seventh Super Bowl, it didn't seem like we'd ever see anyone get close to matching his record-setting career, but if anyone can do it, it's definitely Mahomes. NFL fans got spoiled with 23 years of Brady, and now, we're getting spoiled again with Mahomes.
The Patriots dynasty just ended, and now, the Chiefs are ready to take their place, even if Mahomes won't admit it.
"I'm not gonna say dynasty yet, we're not done," Mahomes said following the Super Bowl.
Nope, Mahomes isn't done, but whenever he is done, whether that's one day, one year, 10 years or 20 years from now, there will be a spot in Canton, Ohio, waiting for him.