The Kansas City Chiefs overcame sub-zero temperatures to beat the Miami Dolphins in the wild-card playoff game on Saturday and Patrick Mahomes was at the forefront of their success.

While it was far from a career highlight for the 28-year-old, throwing one touchdown and registering 262 passing yards, the Chiefs were largely untroubled thanks to the quarterback’s leadership.

Isiah Pacheco and Rushee Rice rushed for a touchdown each before kicker Harrison Butker scored four successful field goals to put some daylight between the teams, with a 26-7 victory at Arrowhead Stadium enough to put the Chiefs through.

Their win means that Mahomes – into his sixth year as a starter – has more playoff wins than Aaron Rodgers, the current New York Jets QB and 2011 Super Bowl winner.

It was the 12th time the Chiefs star ended up on the winning side in a playoff match, meaning he has now surpassed Rodgers, Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach with their latest triumph.

The Super Bowl winners came into the playoffs on a mixed run of form, and given the Dolphins’ improvement this year, it was by no means a guaranteed win for Andy Reid’s side.

 

They had gone 11-6 in the regular season with a run of defeats against the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills putting their position under question, but they have rallied in recent weeks.

Can Mahomes be NFL’s greatest?

On the basis of his form over the last three years, Mahomes is considered the NFL’s star quarterback.

That has not necessarily translated in his form this year, however, with the likes of Lamar Jackson and Dak Prescott statistically superior this year for touchdowns and passing yards.

But there is a calmness is how Mahomes carries his team through the turbulent times which cannot be accounted for on the stats sheet

As football fans saw in the Super Bowl last year when the Chiefs trailed 27-21 heading into the fourth quarter. Mahomes delivered two key touchdowns to turn the game on its head when the odds were stacked against him as the Chiefs celebrated their first success since 2020.

He still has a long way to go to match up to Tom Brady, who racked up an incredible 35 playoff wins in his illustrious career which included seven Super Bowl rings. But Mahomes, entering the prime of his career, has a chance to close the gap by leading their title defence.