Coming into Super Bowl LIX, several media members shared the opinion that a win for Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes could make the NFL GOAT debate quite interesting. But based on just how badly the Chiefs were beaten by the Eagles on Sunday, FS1’s Colin Cowherd believes that Mahomes’ legacy may have taken damage that is beyond repair.
When you purely look back at the box score, it may seem as if Mahomes’ performance wasn’t all that bad. He threw 257 yards and three touchdowns. However, much of this came in the fourth quarter with the game already well in hand for the Eagles, which is highlighted by the fact that the Chiefs had just 23 yards of offense in the first half and went into the third quarter facing a 24-0 deficit.
Mahomes struggles throughout the game, which included three turnovers that all directly led to Eagles scoring drives, have naturally been heavily scrutinized.
Perhaps none however were as harsh as Colin Cowherd, who called Mahomes’ play the “ugliest Super Bowl performance of our lives” on Tuesday’s edition of The Herd.
“Mahomes this season, you started really hearing about it in September and October. If he wins a third, I think we have a new GOAT. Mahomes finished the regular season as the 16th-highest passer rating and just turned in the ugliest Super Bowl performance arguably of our lives. Just to give you a sense of the gap between Brady and everybody else. If you cut Tom Brady’s career in half and just take the final 12 years, he has four Super Bowls, an MVP, and 54,000 passing yards, which is more than John Elway. He has 20 playoff wins just in the second half of his career, which is the most playoff wins of any quarterback of all time. Just think about that.
“Old Brady did by the way face Patrick Mahomes. Blew him out in the Super Bowl and beat him in overtime at Arrowhead in the AFC Championship. In a game of inches, Brady is several hundred yards from number two. From Joe Montana, from (John) Elway, from Peyton Manning, and from Patrick Mahomes. ‘But Colin, if he would have won Sunday.’ It’s not just that he lost. It’s just for the second time in a Super Bowl, he was awful. Didn’t adjust, overwhelmed, looked shook. It’s not just losing. Whatever that was leaves a mark.”
Colin Cowherd on Patrick Mahomes: “The ugliest Super Bowl performance arguably of our lives… In a game of inches, Brady is several hundred yards from number two… It’s not just that he lost. It’s for the second time in a Super Bowl, he was AWFUL.”pic.twitter.com/5dxHtSJI2H
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 12, 2025
On paper, it may be revisionist history for Cowherd to call Mahomes’ performance one of the “ugliest” in the history of the Super Bowl.
Rich Gannon famously threw five interceptions, three of which were returned for touchdowns in Super Bowl XXVII. Kerry Collins threw for just 112 passing yards and four interceptions in Super Bowl XXXV. And Craig Morton completed just four passes and threw four interceptions in Super Bowl XII.
That being said, none of these players are anywhere close to the GOAT conversation. So Cowherd’s criticism of Mahomes is at least somewhat justified considering just how drastic the curve he is graded on is compared to some of his predecessors.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.