LAS VEGAS — Patrick Mahomes’ playoff career now encompasses the equivalent of a 17-game season played against only the best of competition.
The numbers Mahomes has put up in those games would be staggering even if they were produced in the regular season.
Mahomes has 5,260 yards combined passing and rushing in those games, has accounted for 44 touchdowns through the air and on the ground and helped the Chiefs win 14 of the 17 games.
The only players besides Mahomes to reach those numbers in an entire regular season are Tom Brady (2021), Peyton Manning (2013) and Drew Brees (2011).
Mahomes’ 309.4 yards rushing and passing per game in the postseason are less than 7 yards behind his regular-season rate and more than 15 yards better than anyone else’s career mark in the regular season with Andrew Luck next at 293.7.
Mahomes’ 14 wins in the postseason before even turning 29 are already tied for the third most of any quarterback, trailing only Joe Montana with 16 and Tom Brady with 35.
He can join Brady (six), Montana (four), Terry Bradshaw (four) and Troy Aikman (three) as the only QBs to win at least three Super Bowl starts.
With a big performance Sunday, Mahomes has a chance to catch everyone but Brady in total touchdowns running and passing in his playoff career. He currently ranks fifth with 44 and needs one to tie Brett Favre, three to match Montana and five to equal Aaron Rodgers’ mark. Catching Brady’s 95 in his career will take a lot more time.
Mahomes’ 39 career TD passes in the postseason are the sixth most ever and more than 11 franchises have in their entire histories.
QB SHUFFLE
While Mahomes is making his fourth Super Bowl start in the past five seasons, the NFC will once again have a new quarterback.
Brock Purdy will be the 10th quarterback to start a Super Bowl for the NFC team in the past 10 seasons, following Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, Matt Ryan, Nick Foles, Jared Goff, Jimmy Garoppolo, Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford and Jalen Hurts.
There has been much less change over the past two decades in the AFC with QBs such as Mahomes, Brady and Manning garnering the majority of the starts.
Led by Brady’s nine starts for New England, there have been only 10 QBs to start the Super Bowl for the AFC in the past 27 seasons.
Purdy also will make the 49ers the first franchise ever with five starting quarterbacks in the Super Bowl with Joe Montana having four, and Steve Young, Colin Kaepernick and Garoppolo one each.
Purdy also will be the third-youngest starting quarterback in the Super Bowl at 24 years, 46 days. Dan Marino was the youngest at 23 years, 127 days in Super Bowl 19 for Miami and Ben Roethlisberger was 23 years, 340 days for Pittsburgh in Super Bowl 40.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
The Chiefs have relied heavily on their offense in their past two title runs, but it’s been the defense carrying a big load this season.
Kansas City has held the opponent to fewer than 28 points in all 20 games in the regular season or playoffs, with Green Bay scoring the most in a 27-19 win in Week 13.
Only five teams have ever won a Super Bowl allowing fewer than 28 points in each game but none of those teams played as many games as the Chiefs.
Tampa Bay did it in all 19 games in 2002. The other four doing it when the regular season was only 14 games and there were only three playoff games needed: the Dolphins in 1972 and ’73, the 1969 Chiefs and the 1967 Packers.
TALE OF TWO HALVES
Kansas City’s offense looked close to its usual self in the first half of games this season, but has fallen off dramatically after halftime.
The Chiefs were the sixth-highest scoring team in the first half of games with 243 points, but scored only 128 in the second half, tied for the third fewest.
That was tied for the seventh-biggest drop-off since 1991 with the most recent time a team fell off by more coming in 2014 when the Packers scored 134 fewer points and the 49ers scored 123 fewer points in the second half of games.
The Chiefs were held scoreless in the second half four times this season, doing it three straight games in the middle of the season and again in the AFC title game.
The Niners were far more consistent, leading the league in the regular season with 267 first-half points and ranking third with 224 in the second half.
That changed in the postseason with San Francisco scoring only 14 points before halftime and 44 in the second of back-to-back comebacks.
The Chiefs propensity to start fast has been evident in the playoffs. They have scored on the opening drive of all three games to extend their postseason streak to eight in a row with six touchdowns and two field goals.
No other team since at least the 2000 season has scored on the first in more than four consecutive games.
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
The Chiefs will probably feel right at home at Allegiant Stadium having played — and won — here every season since the Raiders arrived in Las Vegas in 2020.
Kansas City is 4-0 at the venue and with a win on Sunday, Mahomes and Andy Reid will have the most wins by any quarterback-coach duo in stadium history.
That’s thanks in large part to the Raiders going through four coaches in their four seasons in Las Vegas and changing quarterbacks this season.
The Raiders have three duos with four wins at Allegiant Stadium with Derek Carr doing it with Jon Gruden and Josh McDaniels, and Aidan O’Connell doing it this past season with Antonio Pierce.
