Patrick Mahomes is chasing history in more ways than one this season.
His Kansas City Chiefs are the reigning, back-to-back Super Bowl champions who are now just three wins away from an unprecedented Super Bowl three-peat.
The superstar quarterback is also chasing NFL GOAT Tom Brady‘s record of seven Super Bowl rings, with a victory in this year’s big game putting him just three shy of the New England Patriots legend’s total at the tender age of 29.
Before all that, though, Mahomes and the 15-2 Chiefs must first get past the Houston Texans, who they face in this weekend’s divisional round.
The No.1 Chiefs return to the playoff fold this week having sat out last weekend’s wild-card round while the Texans overcame the Los Angeles Chargers 32-12 on Saturday to set up the Kansas City clash.
The Chiefs are the overwhelming favorites to win the game, and if they do advance to the AFC Championship game Mahomes would extend a stunning, 14-year record he shares with Brady.
Since 2011, every single AFC title game has featured either Brady’s Patriots or Mahomes’ Chiefs.
In 2011, the Pats got the better of the Ravens before Baltimore got revenge at the same stage a year after.
Brady and Belichick then faced the Broncos (2013), Colts (2014), Broncos (2015), Steelers (2016), Jaguars (2017), and Chiefs (2018) in the conference’s championship round.
The only games the Patriots lost during that run was both championship games against Denver, during the 2013 and 2015 NFL seasons.
After Brady bested Mahomes in 2018, it’s been all the Chiefs, who have made the AFC Championship game every year since.
Andy Reid‘s team beat the Titans in 2019, the Bills in 2020, but lost to the Bengals in 2021 — one of only three playoff career defeats for Mahomes — the other being to Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV.
The Chiefs bounced back in the 2022 season to beat Joe Burrow’s Bengals before triumphing over the Ravens last year.
Should they get past the Texans on Saturday, the Brady-Mahomes stranglehold on the AFC title game would continue into its 14th season.
The divisional round has been fertile hunting ground for Mahomes since he became the Chiefs’ QB1 in 2018.
‘Showtime’ is a perfect 6-0 in the divisional round, having completed 70.4 percent of his passes for 1,813 yards, 16 touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 115.8 passer rating.
Last season was perhaps his most impressive victory, marching into the No. 1 seeded Ravens and MVP Lamar Jackson’s own stadium and guiding the Chiefs to a 17-10 win.
To reach the AFC title game this year, the Chiefs will have to overcome sophomore star C.J. Stroud — one of the brightest young quarterbacks in the league — and his Texans squad.
Houston finished the regular season just 10-7 after a 5-1 start, but put on a clinic, especially on defense, against the Chargers on wild-card weekend.
If the Texans are to stand any chance of causing an upset in the divisional round this weekend, it’ll largely hinge on DeMeco Ryan’s defense getting to Mahomes early and forcing him into mistakes and turnovers.
Easier said than done, but the Texans have one of the most potent pass rushes in the entire NFL while pass protection has been the Chiefs’ weakness all season long, with Mahomes being sacked a career-high 36 times this year.
Nevertheless, you’d be a brave person to bet against Mahomes, who has already beaten the Texans 27-19 this season and is undefeated in the divisional round.
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