The Kansas City Chiefs suffered a disappointing 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in their Week 15 matchup. To make matters worse, quarterback Patrick Mahomes sustained a season-ending injury.
Surprisingly, his situation bears a striking resemblance to what Tom Brady once experienced, and fans can’t stop talking about the comparison.
Fans Compare Patrick Mahomes’ Injury to a Similar Case of Tom Brady
With around two minutes left in the fourth quarter, the game had already slipped out of the Chiefs’ hands. But as if Kansas City fans hadn’t endured enough, their star QB Mahomes was injured at the line of scrimmage when Chargers defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand attempted to tackle him. The hit was intense, and Mahomes landed awkwardly on his knee, leaving him in visible pain.
While the Chiefs have been struggling to stay alive in the playoff picture, the former NFL MVP was still having a decent season, ranking No. 12 in PFSN’s QB Impact. Sunday’s loss broke fans’ hearts, but it also sparked intrigue because of the similarities between Mahomes’ injury and Brady’s past setback.
Both Mahomes and Brady suffered knee injuries in their ninth NFL seasons, and both had already won three Super Bowls at that point in their careers. NFL insider Jordan Schultz highlighted the coincidence in a recent post on X.
“History repeating: Both Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes suffered torn ACLs in their 9th NFL seasons. Both ACL injuries came the year after losing a Super Bowl, with both QBs already having won 3 Super Bowls prior to that,” Schultz wrote.
Seeing the similarities, one fan humorously accused NFL commissioner Roger Goodell of repeating the same script: “Goodell repeating the 2008 Brady injury script to give Mahomes another dynasty.”
One fan pointed out additional parallels, including both teams missing the playoffs in their ninth seasons: “Tom Brady in NFL Season 8: going for his 4th ring, loses in the Super Bowl. Patrick Mahomes in NFL Season 8: going for his 4th ring, loses in the Super Bowl. Tom Brady in Season 9: injures knee, team misses playoffs. Patrick Mahomes in Season 9: injures knee, team misses playoffs.”
Highlighting the same facts, another one called the similarities crazy: “So this is crazy… both Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes won 3 Super Bowls early in their careers and then tore their ACLs in their 9th seasons with both teams missing the playoffs that year.”
Week 15 turned into a nightmare for Chiefs fans. Not only did they see their playoff hopes fade, but they also lost Mahomes for the remainder of the season. The 30-year-old QB has followed a surprisingly similar path so far, and fans will be hoping he can match the success Brady achieved after returning from his 2008 injury.