Is Mahomes entering Brady-like second half of career?

Patrick Mahomes is returning from a torn ACL at the end of last season and looks back to his best; will Kansas City Chiefs put together second half of career reminiscent of Tom Brady; watch Chiefs vs Chargers live on Sky Sports on Sunday at 9.25pm

Have you forgotten about the career Patrick Mahomes is putting together?

The hottest new star takes the headlines over the productive veteran. Those who win too much become villains, and those who beat them are heroes. Before you know it, the new heroes are winning too much for our liking.

Mahomes has been through this story arc: the incredible, exciting first season as the AFC quarterback who could finally knock Tom Brady off his throne. The Super Bowl win that rejuvenated a franchise. Then came the flag-drawing, fan-ire-inciting run to an almost 'three-peat' that turned most of the NFL world against the Mahomes/Travis Kelce/Taylor Swift media storm.

Mahomes was too good for too long. "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain," or something along those lines.

Then last season happened. Career low in quarterback rating. Career high in sack rate. A losing season (heaven forbid) along with a season-ending ACL tear. Josh Allen is Superman, Brock Purdy has reached a new level, Trevor Lawrence is breaking out. Is Mahomes... under the radar?

Let's remind ourselves of Mahomes' first eight seasons as an NFL starter.

It is unprecedented. Not since the second half of Tom Brady's remarkable career has a quarterback and team achieved this consistent level of success.

As mentioned above, we are always drawn to the hottest new star in the league, and Mahomes' first season was arguably the greatest campaign by a quarterback in their first as a starter.

After sitting behind veteran Alex Smith in his rookie year, Mahomes exploded with 5,097 passing yards and 50 touchdowns in 2018. Only Peyton Manning had reached those marks in a single season before, and Mahomes was named MVP.

It didn't take long for him to get his first Lombardi Trophy as part of a stretch that saw the Chiefs reach seven consecutive AFC Championship games, make five Super Bowls and win three.

But from new, exciting and lovable, the narrative (and style of play) changed along the way.

After that 50-TD campaign, there was a stretch where Mahomes looked unstoppable, culminating in another 5,000-yard year in 2022, with an MVP award and Super Bowl win to boot.

From 2023 onwards, his passing numbers dropped. He stopped going deep (at least compared to before). The defense also got better and although it didn't stop the team's success, we'd become used to 'video game numbers'.