Shannon Sharpe: Patrick Mahomes Has Surpassed Tom Brady as Most Clutch QB in NFL
By Liam McKeone
The well of evergreen sports topics has been dipped into countless times without live sports. While it will eventually go dry, that day has yet to come. Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless drew from that well once more today on Undisputed and tackled the subject of who the clutchest quarterback in the NFL is right now.
Sharpe believes the reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes deserves that title because, while Tom Brady has a long and fruitful history of clutch performances, the NFL is a "What have you done for me recently" league. Brady's resume exceeds Mahomes', but last year went firmly in the latter's favor in the clutch regard, so Mahomes gets to claim that title for the 2020 season.
"We can't properly critique Brady because we have to go back to 'Remember what he did in 2006, 2012?' All I know is Mahomes was behind 10 points in 3 playoff games & he came back to win all those games by double digits."@ShannonSharpe on Mahomes overtaking Brady as most clutch pic.twitter.com/7VKICEs2ev
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) May 21, 2020
If you are only taking 2019 into account, Mahomes was indeed the clutchest quarterback in the league. Cumulatively, his 2019 playoff run may be the clutchest in recent history after the Chiefs were down at least 10 points in every postseason game and 24 in the divisional round. Brady is the only other quarterback in the league that could be argued over Mahomes if your team is in a hole in the biggest moment of the season.
However, I do think Sharpe is exaggerating just a bit when he talks about Brady's success coming in the past. It was only four years ago he led arguably the greatest comeback in sports history, much less NFL history, after going down 25 in Super Bowl 51. Three years ago he broke almost every record in the book against the Eagles in Super Bowl 52, even if that was ultimately a loss. Two years ago, the Patriots won their sixth title because Brady made the perfect throw at the perfect time to set up New England's only touchdown of the game.
Sharpe is right to say the NFL only cares about recent events. It's about what happened last year, what that means for this year, and how that could affect next year. Last year, Brady wasn't the Brady of his MVP 2017 season, or even 2018. Nobody has any idea what that means for this year because he'll be somewhere other than New England for the first time in his professional career, much less what it might mean for next year. But Brady, if anyone, has earned the benefit of the doubt.
None of that is to say Mahomes isn't the clutchest QB in the NFL, but a 20-year resume counts for something. Brady isn't done yet. We'll see if he takes that title back from Mahomes in his new home down south.