What will it take for Patrick Mahomes to unseat Tom Brady as NFL’s GOAT? The question is harder than you think

Patrick Mahomes has Tom Brady in the crosshairs. Or does he? For the fourth time in the last five seasons, the Kansas City Chiefs are in the Super Bowl with Mahomes under center. The two-time NFL MVP will be playing for the third Super Bowl of his career, which legitimately has him on a trajectory to potentially unseat Brady as the greatest player the NFL has ever witnessed. 

When you compare the first six seasons of Brady and Mahomes’ careers, the Chiefs QB has the edge in wins (regular season and postseason), AFC Championship titles, passer rating and TD-INT ratio. The only spot where Brady currently has the edge over that stretch is a 3-2 lead in Super Bowl titles, which Mahomes can tie with a win over the San Francisco 49ers in a couple of weeks at Super Bowl LVIII. 

Naturally, all that pushes the discussion to whether or not he can catch Brady. It’s a fair conversation to have and in bounds considering what we’ve witnessed him accomplish over his first six years as the full-time starter. However, there are some talking heads decreeing he already has reached that mountaintop, which, of course, is premature. And just how far Mahomes still needs to go — despite this sensational start — is worth highlighting. 

Let’s work under the assumption that the Chiefs do defeat the Niners to claim Mahomes’ third Super Bowl title. Congrats, you’re just under halfway there to catch Brady’s record seven Lombardi Trophies. 

And how do we factor in their head-to-head matchups for this jockeying of all-time status? Even if Mahomes matches Brady’s seven, the elder statesman owns a 2-0 playoff record against him on some of the biggest stages that the NFL has to offer: the 2018 AFC Championship (with Patriots) and Super Bowl LV (with Buccaneers). 

This isn’t the same scenario that Brady found himself in as he looked to unseat Joe Montana for this mantle or even — if we expand outside of football…

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