Patrick Mahomes Reveals NFL Loss That Haunts Him Most Ahead of Super Bowl 59
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes provided a quick answer when asked if there's a loss in his career that keeps him up at night, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated Mahomes' Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl LV to cap the 2020 season. It was a tough day for Mahomes, who completed 26-of-49 passes for 270 yards and two interceptions (no touchdowns).
Mahomes' stat line was ugly, but he was hurt by two factors.
First, the Buccaneers' defense was in his face all night, as the Chiefs' offensive line, which had been beset by injuries and was playing four backups at this point, could not withstand Tampa's ferocious front. Mahomes ran for his life much of the evening.
Second, Mahomes was still able to make plays, but drops killed the Chiefs. Tyreek Hill had one in the end zone that hit him in the facemask, and Darrel Williams had another potential touchdown drop after Mahomes legendarily scrambled away from pressure and made a throw while being tackled.
"They beat us pretty good — the worst, I think, I've been beaten in a long time," Mahomes told reporters postgame, per the late Terez Paylor of Yahoo Sports.
He also explained why he thought the Chiefs struggled.
"I just think we weren't on the same page as an offense in general," Mahomes said. "I wasn't getting the ball out on time, the receivers were running routes not exactly to where I thought they were going to be at and the offensive line, they were good sometimes and sometimes let guys through. And when you're playing a good defense like that, you've got to be on the same page as on offense. And we weren't today and that's why we played so bad."
Remarkably, Mahomes has only lost by double digits in four of the games that he's started (including playoffs). Super Bowl LV stands as the second-worst loss of his career in terms of point differential (minus-22). The worst occurred on Oct. 24, 2021 in a 27-3 loss at the Tennessee Titans.
Mahomes may have had a rough day against the Bucs four years ago, but it's been going pretty well for him since. The Chiefs have won back-to-back Super Bowls and are looking for their third straight on Sunday when they play in New Orleans against the Philadelphia Eagles. Kickoff from Caesars Superdome is set for 6:30 p.m. ET.
