Patrick Mahomes has only been beaten three times in 20 career playoff games since taking over as the full-time starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018.
Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl MVP, has been almost unbeatable when the lights turn the brightest. His last postseason defeat came at the hands of Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals back on Jan. 30, 2022, in the AFC Championship Game.
He’ll be gunning for his 10th straight playoff win when the Chiefs play the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 59. Mahomes won his first meeting against Jalen Hurts in 2023 and holds a dominating 17-3 overall record in the postseason.
Tom Brady Knocked Off Patrick Mahomes in the Postseason
While his football-playing career is in the past, Tom Brady was the kryptonite to Kansas City’s Superman — probably not the worst thing to have etched on your Hall of Fame plaque. Mahomes lost to arguably the greatest quarterback to ever do it twice in the postseason: a 37-31 defeat in the 2019 AFC Championship Game and a 31-9 loss in the 2021 Super Bowl.
Mahomes went 16-of-31 for 295 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in his first crack at Brady. It took overtime to silence the Chiefs too, as Brady guided a 13-play, 72-yard drive that ate up four minutes and 52 seconds in the extra frame.
The New England Patriots capped it off by feeding Rex Burkhead for a two-yard touchdown run. That was Mahomes’ first playoff loss. The Patriots beat the Chiefs 37-31.
THROWBACK: THE FIRST TIME TOM BRADY & PATRICK MAHOMES FACED EACH OTHER IN THE PLAYOFFS.
Brady was 30 for 46 for 348 YARDS.
Mahomes threw for 295 yards & 3 touchdowns.
AN ALL-TIME GREAT PLAYOFF GAME…BETWEEN THE TWO GREATEST pic.twitter.com/TQt43g8nY1
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) July 22, 2024
His rematch with Brady came in Super Bowl 55 when the Kansas City Chiefs battled the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That game was never close.
Mahomes ran for his life all night, struggling to get comfortable in the pocket behind a banged-up offensive line, and he finished by going 26-of-49 for 270 yards with three interceptions and no touchdowns. He was sacked three times while being pressured on 29 of his 56 total dropbacks.
Those 29 pressures set a new Super Bowl record. The Buccaneers beat the Chiefs 31-9.
“Pat [Mahomes] was doing everything he could to make a bunch of plays last night,” Brady said the day after the game, via CBS Sports. “He was running around, reversing field, doubling back, tripling back, and made some great throws. But in the end, it’s tough to do that consistently and play in rhythm.”
Joe Burrow Got Mahomes the Other Time, Joining an Exclusive List
The other quarterback to beat Mahomes in the postseason was Burrow. He accomplished the hard feat in the 2022 AFC Championship by leading his Cincinnati Bengals to a 27-24 victory.
They lost to the Los Angeles Rams 23-20 in Super Bowl 56.
Burrow vs. Mahomes in the 2022 AFC Championship was must watch TV 🔥 Now we get to see them face off again in Week 2 👏 pic.twitter.com/1p923HDQEV
— NFL (@NFL) June 1, 2024
Mahomes went 26-of-39 for 275 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in the 2022 AFC Championship Game. The Bengals had to erase an 18-point deficit and force overtime to outlast the Chiefs, with Burrow leading a nine-play, 42-yard drive in the extra frame to set up a 31-yard field goal by Evan McPherson.
Burrow holds a 3-2 all-time record against Mahomes, including the playoffs. Brady went 3-3 in their six meetings, including the playoffs.