Patrick Mahomes likes to note that growing up in Whitehouse, Texas, “football was my No. 3 sport.”
He ranks baseball and basketball as more important youthful concerns. His friends believe he was best at basketball — although at about 6-foot-2 a professional future was limited — and of course he played football and baseball at Texas Tech but was also drafted by the Detroit Tigers. He also golfed, competed in the high jump and took on just about any game that came along.
All of it makes his pursuit of being football’s No. 1 all-time player even more stunning; but also offers an explanation.
“Patrick is the poster child for the multi-sport athlete,” said Adam Cook, one of his old high school football coaches.
In doing everything and specializing in nothing, Mahomes focused on a single thing — winning. The sports and seasons and playing fields (or courts) would change, but what remained were he and his buddies trying to come out on top.
Sometimes he was a point guard hitting them on the break, sometimes he was a pitcher throwing a no-hitter, sometimes he was heaving one deep into the end zone.
“Just playing,” Mahomes likes to say.
And perhaps just learning how to win in any manner available, which even more than his myriad skills has defined Mahomes’ career. He’s never been the prototype professional quarterback, but as Kansas City opens the NFL season hosting Baltimore on Thursday, he stands on the cusp of history.
The Chiefs are seeking a third consecutive Super Bowl victory, something no NFL team has ever accomplished. Winning another Lombardi (Mahomes’ fourth overall) in February would give him something that not even the other quarterbacking greats have. Not Joe Montana, Troy Aikman, Bart Starr or Terry Bradshaw. Not even Tom Brady.
“You never know if you’re going to win another Super Bowl — I mean, that’s your hope,” Mahomes said this week.
The hope remains strong because of Mahomes. He’s just 28 but the roster around him has changed, coordinators have come and gone, key weapons have aged or moved on. Yet in the end, there is No. 15, repeatedly finding a way, especially in the playoffs.
Maybe it’s 13 seconds against Buffalo. Maybe it’s down 10 against San Francisco in one Super Bowl or in overtime in another.
It’s about winning. That’s it. That’s all it has ever been.
“Because he played multiple sports, the overlay of all of those experiences and skills are there in the NFL,” his old high school coach Cook said. “It’s all just one game for Patrick. It’s always been just one big game, just on different playing surfaces. In high school football you are guaranteed just 10 games. Instead, Patrick was always playing something and learning how to win along the way.”
The three-peat will not be determined on Thursday. Baltimore remains a serious challenger in the AFC, but even making a statement so far from the crucible of the playoffs won’t matter too much. Mahomes owns a 15-3 career playoff record because he’s learned what it takes.
For Mahomes, this is just another chance to compete, just one of 17 regular season chances to measure up and try to leave happy. He’s learned to pace himself with expectations and enjoy the spotlight that was earned by winning it all last year.
This is about the first step.
“It’s just a great opportunity for the guys,” Mahomes said. “To see what it’s like to be on the biggest stage. Obviously, you want to play in the Super Bowl at the end of the year, but this is a big stage as well. To be able to get that experience, play a great football team, I’m excited for these guys to get out there and the guys who haven’t been here to see what it’s like to be on that type of stage.”
Eyes on the prize at the end, but forever focused on the present. History is there for the taking and maybe no one has proven better prepared to take it than Patrick Mahomes.