Patrick Mahomes told Tom Brady that he was seeking to achieve “greatness” ahead of Super Bowl LIX, where a victory would’ve made the Kansas City Chiefs the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowl titles.
Now, Mahomes is searching for answers.
The Chiefs quarterback fell well short of greatness Sunday, committing three turnovers (two interceptions, one lost fumble) in the Chiefs’ 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, only finding success through the air when the game was well out of reach in the fourth quarter.
In the first half, Mahomes was historically bad. He completed just 6 of 14 passes for 33 yards, with one interception being returned for a touchdown and a second which gave the Eagles short field position, allowing them to take a 24-0 lead into halftime. Mahomes’ 2.36 yards per attempt in the first half threatened Kerry Collins’ record for the worst yards per attempt (2.9) of all time in Super Bowl history (minimum 15 passes).
Mahomes particularly struggled when pressured. He was 0 of 5 with an interception and was sacked five times when pressured through the middle of the third quarter, per Next Gen Stats. The Eagles also did that without blitzing once.
As Mahomes was rattled by the Eagles’ four-man rushes until the game was out of reach, he shared with Brady what area of his game he wanted to improve the most. Mahomes’ struggles in Sunday’s game might expedite his desire to improve that certain area.
“I want to just continue to get better and better from within the pocket,” Mahomes told Brady. “I feel like in people’s minds right now that they’re like, ‘You can do it in the pocket, but if we had a choice, we’d rather him be in the pocket and make it throws from there.’ I think it kind of restricts what I can do, as far as a quarterback, not being able to just surgically basically dominate the game from just into within the pocket.
“All that other stuff’s cool, and it’s fun, and I want to be able to continue to do that as long as possible. I’ll stay in the best shape I possibly can. But if I can just be more deadly from within the pocket than outside the pocket, I think that’ll take my game to the next level.”
Tom Brady & Patrick Mahomes Interview before Super Bowl LIX on FOX
Two of Mahomes’ turnovers came while he was in the pocket, but his first interception came on a rollout right after the snap. He rolled to his right and threw a cross-body pass that went straight to Eagles defensive back Cooper DeJean, while DeAndre Hopkins — Mahomes’ intended target — was blanketed further down the field by another Eagles defender. As the Chiefs’ offense was limited to half the field due to Mahomes’ rollout, DeJean was able to run to the other sideline and breakaway for a 38-yard touchdown return that gave the Eagles a 17-0 lead in the second quarter.
Even after that interception, it felt that Mahomes and the Chiefs still had a shot at victory. Kansas City came back from a 10-point deficit in each of its three other Super Bowl wins with Mahomes.
“Obviously, experience is helping me in some of these games, just being one of the older guys in the league,” Mahomes told Brady of how the Chiefs found ways to win. “We have confidence, not only in myself, but as a team, that we’re going to get it done no matter what the situation is. We’ve been in so many of these different situations, and I think that is our edge. It’s that we don’t panic whenever stuff doesn’t go our way.
“We just know that we can make it right the next play. I think that experience and that confidence is the edge that we kind of have in some of these big games, because we don’t have to play guys like you anymore.”
But the Eagles presented a well-rounded attack that was arguably stronger than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did in their 31-9 victory over the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. Veterans like Hopkins, Travis Kelce and Chris Jones all failed to make a meaningful impact, while Mahomes was clearly bothered by the pressure during Sunday’s game.
Eventually, the Chiefs trailed 34-0 by the middle of the third quarter in Sunday’s game. That’s the largest deficit Mahomes has ever faced in any game he has started over his career.
Sunday’s game was the sort of loss that made the Chiefs somehow look mortal. They went 17-1 in the games Mahomes started this season, as they were the first team to reach the Super Bowl after winning two straight titles.
Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs: What went WRONG in BAD Super Bowl showing?
As many believe the Chiefs have replaced Brady’s New England Patriots as the NFL’s newest dynasty team, several fans relished their loss on Sunday. Prior to the game, Brady wanted to know what Mahomes’ experience has been like as the player fans root against.
“I have so much more appreciation for what y’all did now because I was someone that was like, ‘Man, why do they win every single year? I want the Cowboys [to win],'” Mahomes told Brady. “But I think it’s brought us closer together as a team. It’s like, if you’re not in Chiefs Kingdom, it’s like everyone’s rooting against you. So, it’s not like we’re going out there to prove everybody wrong. We’re just going out there to prove ourselves right.
“Even if you’re rooting against us, you have to respect us because of the way that we play.”
While Mahomes struggled Sunday, his counterpart didn’t. Jalen Hurts scored three total touchdowns and completed 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards to go with 72 rushing yards. That performance earned Hurts Super Bowl MVP. It also made him just the third quarterback to defeat Mahomes in the playoffs, joining Brady and Joe Burrow.
As Brady mentioned Burrow, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson as Mahomes’ potential equivalents to what Peyton Manning was for him, the Chiefs quarterback added Hurts to that list even before Sunday’s game.
“Jalen is playing his tail off, and he’s been in these big games a lot in his young career,” Mahomes said. “So, it’s great for the NFL that you have great quarterback play, because it makes it fun to watch and it pushes everybody to be even better.”
After reigning supreme for the last two seasons, maybe Mahomes needs the push that he got from Hurts and the Eagles to eventually win his fourth Super Bowl.
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