Fox play-by-play commentator Kevin Burkhardt teed up the question for Tom Brady in the booth early in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 59 – a three-peat coronation turned blowout that prompted the Patrick Mahomes’ legacy questions.

Philadelphia beat Kansas City 40-22 in Super Bowl 59 – which forced us to do what sports fans do. We have to update the GOAT debates with quarterbacks.

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“I think about – unfortunately the three losses – more than I think about the seven wins,” Brady said from the booth. “The reality of a loss in this game is you don’t get over them.”

All of this is poker logic. It is like the rehashed Matt Damon quote from “Rounders,” when he says: “In ‘Confessions of a Winning Poker Player,’ Jack King said, “Few players recall big pots they have won, strange as it seems, but every player can remember with remarkable accuracy the outstanding tough beats of his career.”

Will Mahomes think about this loss more than the 25-22 overtime victory against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 58? Of course. What does this mean for that legacy question?

Mahomes – despite the loss – is halfway to Brady with a decade (or more) to go. That is the fair way to frame this argument for the future.

Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes: GOAT debate

Patrick Mahomes Super Bowl record

Mahomes is now 3-2 in the Super Bowl. He finished 21 of 32 for 257 yards, three TDs, two interceptions and one fumble against the Eagles in the loss. Mahomes had two costly interceptions and took six sacks, and this was by all accounts his second-worst Super Bowl loss in five tries.

In those five appearances, Mahomes has a 65.3% complete percentage. He averages 265.6 passing yards per game with 10 TDs and seven interceptions. The other loss, of course, was a 31-9 loss to Tampa Bay in Super Bowl 55 – when Brady was the quarterback for the Buccaneers.

Mahomes is 29 years old, however, and he is the youngest quarterback to win three Super Bowls. That led to the Brady comparisons in the first place – even if it has come in just eight seasons. He did have a defining moment by leading the Chiefs to the game-winning TD in Super Bowl 58 against the 49ers.

Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl

SUPER BOWL
OPP.
RESULT
COMP
ATT
YDS
TD
INTS

54
49ers
W 31-20

55
Buccaneers
L 31-9
26
49
270
0
2

57
Eagles
W 38-35
21
27
182
3
0

58
49ers
W 25-22
34
46
333
2
1

59
Eagles
L 40-22
21
32
257
3
2

Tom Brady Super Bowl record

Brady was 7-3 in the Super Bowl. He had a 64.3% completion percentage. Brady averaged 303.9 passing yards with 21 TDs and six interceptions in those 10 appearances, and his three losses were by a combined total of 16 points.

Brady led the comeback from a 28-3 deficit against Atlanta in Super Bowl 51 for a 34-28 overtime victory that was a conversation point when the Chiefs were down 24-0 at halftime against the Eagles. He played 23 seasons between New England and Tampa Bay, and most of his Super Bowl records are the standard across the board.

Tom Brady in the Super Bowl

SUPER BOWL
OPP.
RESULT
COMP
ATT
YDS
TD
INTS

36
Rams
W 20-17
16
27
145
1
0

38
Panthers
W 32-29
32
48
354
3
1

39
Eagles
W 24-21
23
33
236
2
0

42
Giants
L 17-14
29
48
266
1
0

46
Giants
L 21-17
27
41
276
2
1

49
Seahawks
W 28-24
37
50
328
4
2

51
Falcons
W 34-28
43
62
466
2
1

52
Eagles
L 41-33
28
58
505
3
0

53
Rams
W 13-3
21
35
262
0
1

55
Chiefs
W 31-9
21
29
201
3
0

Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes GOAT argument

Long term this could become a Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James type argument, but in the present tense it is preposterous to compare Brady and Mahomes.

Brady remains the GOAT, and that shadow was ever-present from the booth in Super Bowl 59. Before the third quarter, Brady said the Chiefs simply “needed to have a drive that crosses the 50-yard line.” Mahomes has not yet crossed the 50-yard line in that argument.

San Francisco’s Joe Montana and Pittsburgh’s Terry Bradshaw have four Super Bowl wins, and Dallas’ Troy Aikman had three Super Bowl wins. Those three quarterbacks, however, were part of dynasties, and they finished with a combined record of 11-0 in the Super Bowl.

Mahomes probably should be compared to Montana more than Brady at this point. Remember how long it took to put Brady ahead of Montana in that argument? It wasn’t cemented until Brady won his fifth Super Bowl against Atlanta, then he tacked on victories against the Rams in Super Bowl 53 and the Chiefs in Super Bowl 55.

Montana had a 68% completion percentage in four Super Bowl appearances. He averaged 285.5 yards per game with 11 TDs and no interceptions. Montana somehow got bypassed in the recency argument with Mahomes – who does have more appearances in the Super Bowl but also has two one-sided losses.

So, the question for Mahomes now becomes how much does the losses weigh in the discussion? Kansas City was one game away from pulling the first three-peat in Super Bowl history, but they were dominated by the Eagles’ defense in a game where the Chiefs were favored. What comes next?

How many Super Bowls will Patrick Mahomes win?

That will be the question. Assuming Mahomes plays for another decade, then he will have several more shots in the AFC playoffs – where he has managed to compile a 6-1 record against Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow in the postseason. Mahomes is 17-4 in the playoffs, and Kansas City likely will be favored to win the AFC again in 2025.

But there are questions. How long will Andy Reid coach? How long will tight end Travis Kelce play? Brady essentially was part of two separate dynasties with New England and went 12 years between his third Super Bowl victory against the Eagles in Super Bowl 39 and his fourth against the Falcons in Super Bowl 51. Will Mahomes have a similar drought in his career? Will he play until he is 40 years old?

Mahomes will have better career passing totals than Montana, and the Kansas City quarterback’s 102.1 passer rating ranks second all time behind Aaron Rodgers at 102.6. Rodgers, of course, had talent in the neighborhood of all of those quarterbacks but also has just one Super Bowl victory.

Mahomes could easily have the numbers to match Brady when he’s done. But how many more rings will he have? He still needs a few more before we can have a serious discussion that isn’t caught in the latest social-media cycle. Brady was 3-2 after his first five Super Bowls, too. He went 4-1 after that.

That is something to think about after Mahomes’ second loss. What will he do from here?

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