Super Bowl LVII MVP Patrick Mahomes’ legacy as an all-time great takes another step forward

GLENDALE, Ariz. ― Patrick Mahomes had already established himself as one of the best quarterbacks of all time before Super Bowl LVII.

But Sunday night, on a hobbled right ankle and staring down a 10-point halftime deficit against the NFL’s No. 2 defense, Mahomes’ legend took another massive step forward as he rallied the Kansas City Chiefs to a 38-35 win over the Eagles. The victory meant a second Super Bowl triumph for the 27-year-old Mahomes, who also won the game’s MVP for a second time.

“He’s the MVP. The MVP,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said in his postgame on-field interview. “That’s all that needs to be said: MVP.”

While Mahomes has ridden his cannon of a right arm to accolade after accolade, including this season’s MVP award, his second, his biggest play came via his legs for the second consecutive game.

Tied, 35-35, with 2 minutes, 55 seconds remaining, and facing an Eagles pass rush that challenged the all-time record for sacks in a season with 70, Mahomes did what he does best and improvised. At the Philadelphia 43-yard line, with the pocket collapsing around him, Mahomes stepped up into the rush, slithered his way into an open lane, and took off. Despite the bad ankle, which he had reaggravated in the first half after a tackle from Eagles linebacker T.J. Edwards, Mahomes outran three Eagles defenders, zigging and zagging his way to a 26-yard gain which essentially put the Chiefs in position to play for a game-winning field goal.

“You’re in the Super Bowl; you can worry about getting it healthy in the offseason, so I just fought through it and we were able to win the game,” Mahomes said.

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The play, which advanced the Chiefs to the Eagles’ 17, was remarkable enough in isolation. But, given Mahomes had suffered a painful-looking high right ankle sprain only three weeks earlier in the divisional round against the Jacksonville Jaguars, it was borderline heroic. It was a legacy moment, and it capped what had been a masterful performance that saw Mahomes lead the Chiefs to three touchdowns and a field goal in four second-half drives.

“They did a good job of covering the guys I wanted to throw to ... and the D-line left a lane, and I thought once I got out, I felt that someone was right on my back the entire time,” Mahomes said about the scramble. “You just try and get in field-goal range, and we have a great kicker and you just want to give him a chance to kick a field goal.”

Six plays later, which included two runs, a controversial pass interference penalty against Eagles corner James Bradberry, and two kneels to center the football, Harrison Butker split the uprights from 27 yards for the game-winner.

Mahomes coincidentally finished with a playoff career-low 182 passing yards but he made every one of them count, completing 21 of 27 passes with three touchdowns and no interceptions. This wasn’t the splashy Chiefs offense of years past that featured Tyreek Hill and a ton of explosive plays, but Mahomes and Co. were surgical in their own way.

The two-time MVP was nearly perfect, and he had to be, as Jalen Hurts didn’t blink on the other side. The Eagles quarterback racked up 374 yards and four total touchdowns in what was an MVP-worthy performance in its own right.

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“If there were any doubters left, there shouldn’t be,” Mahomes said of Hurts. “The way he stepped up on this stage and ran the ball, threw the ball, did whatever it took for his team to win. It was a special performance and I don’t want that to get lost in the loss they had.”

But down 10 at halftime and limping around on a bad ankle, Mahomes had his own doubters to worry about. He silenced them, winning a second Super Bowl and bouncing back from a disappointing performance three years ago in a 31-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV.

In the process, he became just the third quarterback with multiple MVPs and multiple Super Bowl MVPs after Joe Montana and Tom Brady. That’s the company he’s quickly starting to keep, and just entering his prime, and having reached at least the AFC title game in five straight years, Mahomes likely will be back on this stage many more times.

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Mahomes has a long way to go before he can make a claim to be the GOAT but he’s already built a résumé as one of the all-time greats and still has likely half a career to go. While catching Brady may seem farfetched, Mahomes’ two Super Bowls equals Brady’s haul at age 27. With a legendary coach in Reid, and a Hall of Fame running mate in tight end Travis Kelce, Mahomes and the Chiefs aren’t going anywhere. Right now, the possibilities seem endless for Mahomes, who rose another rung in the quarterback pantheon on Sunday night. A few more moments like this, and he might ultimately stand alone.

“He’s seen greats,” Reid said. “He strives to be the greatest, and without saying anything, that’s the way he works. He wants to be the greatest player ever. That’s what he wants to do, and that’s the way he goes about his business.”