After raising his third Lombardi Trophy in six seasons as a starting quarterback, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are in the middle of a dynasty that doesn’t appear to be slowing down soon. As the ascending Green Bay Packers have their sights set on a Super Bowl trip in the near future, they should be incredibly thankful that Mahomes plays in the AFC and thus won’t be standing in the way of a deep playoff run.
Perhaps the only thing more impressive than winning a third Super Bowl is that Kansas City has appeared in the AFC Championship game in each of Mahomes’ six seasons as a starter. The list of quarterbacks that Mahomes and the Chiefs have vanquished in his tenure includes 13 of the most accomplished names in the league in 18 total playoff games, including four players who either surefire Hall of Famers or are trending in that direction: Ben Roethlisberger, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow. That list also includes a few players who had brilliant starts to their careers, like Andrew Luck and Deshaun Watson, and a few who could still put together stellar careers, like Jalen Hurts and Trevor Lawrence.
Players like Allen, Burrow, and Jackson stand out the most. They have the frustration of knowing that Mahomes and the Chiefs will be standing in their way of making it to the Super Bowl every year. Kansas City has tormented Allen throughout his career. Allen is 0-3 against Mahomes after losing to the Chiefs in the playoffs. KC beat Jackson at home, ending the criticism that Mahomes couldn’t win on the road. Burrow is one of two quarterbacks to have toppled Mahomes in the playoffs; the only other is Tom Brady.
Brady is the only player who has the upper hand on Mahomes. He beat Mahomes once with the New England Patriots in the 2018 AFC Championship game and once in Super Bowl LV with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021. What Mahomes is currently doing to the AFC is reminiscent of what Brady did in his two decades in the league. Brady limited the potential resumés of players like Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco, and Peyton Manning while completely shutting out the likes of Philip Rivers and Andrew Luck. In Tampa, Brady also dealt some late-career blows to Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers took the Packers to five NFC Championship games in his 15 seasons as a starter but went 1-4. But quarterbacks like Brady and Mahomes didn’t dominate the NFC. Instead, eight different quarterbacks tripped Rodgers up over 10 playoff losses, including twice each to Colin Kaepernick and Jimmy Garoppolo in his 0-4 playoff record against San Francisco. He also tallied heartbreaking losses to Hall of Famers like Kurt Warner and Eli Manning and fringe candidates like Russell Wilson, Carson Palmer, and Matt Ryan.
Superstar quarterbacks don’t litter the NFC like they do the AFC, and Packers fans should thank their lucky stars. As Jordan Love found out in his first season as a starter, each playoff game has unique challenges. If everything goes right, you can tear apart a Dak Prescott-led Dallas Cowboys team. But a few bad breaks can thwart an upset bid against the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers and Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy.
Green Bay potentially has the best positioning at quarterback of any NFC team in the near future. Prescott and Jared Goff are about to enter their 30s, the Jalen Hurts-led Philadelphia era appears to be fizzling, and the Sean McVay–Matthew Stafford duo in Los Angeles is on its last legs. Young quarterbacks like Bryce Young, or whomever the Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders, and Atlanta Falcons end up with, could become a threat. But Love appears able to compete with any of them.
As a Packers fan, it’s comforting to know that a colossal figure like Patrick Mahomes won’t haunt Green Bay like he does in Buffalo, Cincinnati, and Baltimore every year. The NFC isn’t going to be easy competition for the Packers by any means, but the conference is much more wide-open for a team to assert itself as the next hot team in a way that the AFC isn’t. As Aaron Rodgers can attest, the path to the Super Bowl is arduous, but Green Bay should smile knowing that Mahomes isn’t in the way to make it that much harder.
