Patrick Mahomes
Does Patrick Mahomes have an early case to be the GOAT?
Patrick Mahomes

Does Patrick Mahomes have an early case to be the GOAT?

Updated Jan. 24, 2022 8:17 p.m. ET

Thirteen seconds was all the time it took for Patrick Mahomes to lead his team downfield into game-tying field-goal position.

The last two minutes of Bills-Chiefs lived up to the hype and then some. Three TDs were scored in less than two minutes as both squads fiercely vied to launch themselves into next week's AFC Championship Game.

Gabriel Davis put Buffalo ahead 29-26 on a shocking fourth-and-13 conversion with 1:54 remaining, and less than a minute later, K.C.'s Tyreek Hill scored on a 64-yard dash. 

Josh Allen then took Buffalo 75 yards in just six plays over 49 seconds. His final throw of the drive was another TD to Davis.

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But all that did was trigger the Mahomes takeover.

As television cameras panned to Mahomes after the Bills' final score, his aura reeked of a man on a mission, and it took just two plays for him to complete that mission. 

First, he hooked up with Hill, who used his shiftiness to rack up a quick 19 yards. Then he found Travis Kelce for 31 more yards to set up Harrison Butker for a 49-yard FG attempt.

Butker converted, and in overtime, the game was essentially over as soon as the customary coin-flip turned up "heads."

Buffalo's defense didn't stand a chance against Mahomes, as he led a brisk, eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive that culminated with a perfectly placed, back-shoulder fade to Kelce for the win.

Mahomes was a flawless 6-for-6 on the drive and went 10-for-13 for 188 yards, two TDs and a perfect passer rating after the game's two-minute warning. The victory cemented his 12th career game-winning drive, and his fourth-quarter TD-INT ratio (4.0) is the second-highest in the league since 1991 (only Josh Allen's 4.63 is higher).

Mahomes' Chiefs will now head to their fourth straight AFC Championship Game with him under center. It's an unprecedented run for a man still believed to be approaching his prime. And it's a career start that, for many, is rivaled by that of just one man in terms of immediate excellence: the consensus GOAT, Tom Brady.

In Nick Wright's mind, though, Mahomes has already cemented himself as the greatest to ever do it.

"He's the best football player we have ever seen," Wright said Monday morning on "First Things First."

"Is he the most accomplished? No. All-time quarterback rankings? Take ‘em, crumple ‘em up, and throw ’em in the trash. That guy is here, and everybody else is fighting for second place. 

"There are no ‘best player alive' arguments."

Nick Wright: Mahomes looked like LeBron in his prime

Nick Wright declares that Patrick Mahomes has ascended to the top of the GOAT conversation.

But Chris Broussard cautioned Wright against making rash claims, given Mahomes' unripe stature, but did agree that Mahomes is on his way to the GOAT title.

"It's premature," Broussard said.

"What Mahomes has over [Brady] and Joe Montana is athleticism, and obviously because of the era, his numbers will crush theirs. … I'm not going to co-sign [him as the GOAT] because it's a little early, but I'm not going to crush Nick either."

Mahomes' playoff numbers indeed give him a leg up on some of the game's most celebrated legends. 

He has 3,106 postseason passing yards (310.6 per game), with an excellent 25-5 TD-INT ratio, 107.2 QB rating and 66.2% completion percentage. His 25 TDs are the most in NFL history through a player's first 10 playoff outings.

Mahomes sits at 8-2 in the postseason, and his only two defeats have come against none other than Brady himself. While the two might never face off again, Mahomes will be in pursuit of Brady's illustrious legacy for years to come.

The only way to catch Brady? Win Super Bowls, which Kansas City has a chance to do if it can get past Cincinnati on Sunday. 

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