Patrick Mahomes is headed back to the Super Bowl.
This was supposed to be the first real down year in the Chiefs’ dynasty, as Kansas City lacked standout 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 high-powered Dolphins, outlast the Bills in Buffalo, and stifle the No. 1-seeded Ravens in Baltimore to punch its ticket to a second straight Super Bowl appearance and the fourth in five years for Mahomes.
This fourth Super Bowl appearance has fully sparked an early debate for Mahomes: Where does he rank in the GOAT (greatest of all time) conversation? Tom Brady is currently the undisputed GOAT, but Mahomes’ play and postseason success have propelled him into the conversation with Brady.
Where does Mahomes actually stand in the debate with Brady? Here’s what you need to know.
(All stats current as of Jan. 28, 2024)
Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes: Regular season stats
Let’s be clear, Mahomes is nowhere close to 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 rate stats, Mahomes takes nearly all the edges. Mahomes is the current NFL record holder in yards per game, is second in passer rating, and ranks tied for seventh all-time in yards per attempt — all considerably above Brady, whose larger sample size will bring down those rate stats.
As for rushing, well, anyone who has seen Brady run knows how these numbers will look. To his credit, Brady was a standout quarterback sneaker and did amass a fair amount of rushing yards in his career, but Mahomes is a far more dangerous scrambler.
Tom Brady
Stat
Patrick Mahomes
335
Games
96
89,214
Passing Yards
28,424
649
Passing TDs
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
Rating
103.5
693
Rush Attempts
374
1,123
Rush Yards
1,936
28
Rush TDs
12
How about over the first seven years of their respective career? Mahomes might not be at Brady’s level in terms of his career just yet — Brady played 23 years in the NFL — but he has gotten off to a considerably better start.
Tom Brady
Stat
Patrick Mahomes
96
Games
96
21,564
Passing Yards
28,424
147
Passing TDs
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
Rating
103.5
239
Rush Attempts
374
435
Rush Yards
1,936
3
Rush 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 502-to-134 touchdown-to-interception ratio (3.7 compared to 1.9 to start his career).
Mahomes is off to a hot start, but finishing like Brady will be a challenge at another level.
Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes: Playoff stats
Brady’s playoff stats would be a standout regular-season career for most quarterbacks, but Mahomes’ postseason run has been impressive, as well. He has never missed a conference championship game as a starter, and he has an impressive 14-3 all-time record in the playoffs.
His stats are good enough that had they been in a 17-game regular season, he’d probably have matched Brady with his third MVP.
Tom Brady
Stat
Patrick Mahomes
48
Games
17
1,200
Completions
422
1,921
Attempts
626
62.5%
Completion Percentage
67.4%
13,400
Passing Yards
4,802
88
Passing TDs
39
40
Interceptions
7
89.8
Rating
106.3
114
Rush Atts
81
133
Rush Yds
458
7
Rush TDs
5
Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes: Head to head
Football is a team game, but it’s inevitable that when comparing two players, particularly quarterbacks, it’s the head-to-head meetings that are most memorable.
They’ve met in six total games. Mahomes has owned the regular season with a record of 3-1 in those games, but in the playoffs, Brady takes the edge with a perfect 2-0 record that features a win in the AFC championship and a Super Bowl victory.
Neither player tallied a sack, interception, or tackle in the head-to-head meetings to impact how their teams played defensively, but here’s a look nonetheless at how each quarterback performed in the games against one another.
Tom Brady
Game
Patrick Mahomes
24-35, 340 yds, 1 TD
Oct. 14, 2018: Patriots 43, Chiefs 40
23-36, 352 yds, 4 TDs, 2 INTs
30-46, 348 yds, 1 TD, 2 INTs
2019 AFC champ: Patriots 37, Chiefs 31
16-31, 295 yds, 3 TDs
19-36, 169 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Dec. 8, 2019: Chiefs 23, Patriots 16
26-40, 283 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
27-41, 345 yds, 3 TD, 2 INTs
Nov. 29, 2020: Chiefs 27, Buccaneers 24
37-49, 462 yds, 3 TDs
21-29, 201 yds, 3 TDs
Super Bowl 55: Buccaneers 31, Chiefs 9
26-49, 270 yds, 2 INTs
39-52, 385 yds, 3 TDs
Oct. 2, 2022: Chiefs 41, Buccaneers 31
23-27, 249 yds, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes: Accolades and awards
Brady has more awards and more rings than Mahomes in his career. He also got off to a hotter start in terms of winning rings. However, Mahomes has accomplished more personal accolades early in his career than Brady reached at the same stage.
Brady did not win an MVP until his eighth season in the league. Mahomes, through seven years, already has two MVPs. Brady had only two Pro Bowl nods through his first seven seasons. Mahomes has six.
Again, Brady’s longevity plays a major role in why he’s 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
MVPs
2
5
Super Bowl MVPs
2
15
Pro Bowls
6
2
OPOY
1
Who’s the GOAT: Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes?
There are plenty of variables that will be factored into the discussion of who is the NFL’s GOAT. Mahomes will have the benefit of playing in a different era, with new rules in place that are beneficial to quarterbacks. He will also have the added benefit of an extra regular-season game each year to help bolster regular-season passing stats. He’s also playing in more of a Golden Age of Quarterbacks, where there are multiple QBs currently making a case to be his Peyton Manning- or Drew Brees-esque rivals.
Mahomes is off to a hot start, and to make it a conversation this early in his career speaks to the greatness he has displayed. 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 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 really challenge Brady.
