Joe Dimaggio’s 56 game hitting streak is the gold standard of a sports record never to be broken.
But another less known record is of the most interest to me. Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has a winning record in games his team has trailed by ten points or more. The Chiefs behind Mahomes have trailed in all four of their Super Bowl games by ten points or more, and Mahomes has guided the Andy Reid coached squad to three Vince Lombardi Trophy capturing victories.
Lifetime, Mahomes is 17-14 in games he was required to overcome a double-digit deficit.
Amazing, and a mark in a category that no other National Football League quarterback has ever accomplished: that is a winning record in games they trailed by double-digits.
There are a lot of ways to measure Mahomes’ greatness, and his perfect blend of competitiveness and skill is the reason he can tread where no quarterback ever has. Last season, Mahomes did a couple things seldom done by Super Bowl winning teams. In a game that the home team defending champion has dominated since its inception in 1994, home champions were 14 and 3 straight-up before the Chiefs lost to the Detroit Lions last September, 21-20.
The Chiefs became only the fourth defending champion to lose their home opener. Those same home teams are 9-6-3 against the point spread. When the Chiefs advanced to Super Bowl LVIII, they were looking to become only the second team in history to win a Super Bowl after suffering a loss at home on opening day.
Jon Gruden led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a win over the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII, 48-21. With that victory, the Buccaneers became the first team to win a Super Bowl after dropping their opening week game at home. The Bucs lost an overtime decision to the New Orleans Saints the first day of the 2002 season, before becoming the first team to win the Super Bowl after suffering a season opening home loss.
The Chiefs success also puts a bullseye on their chances to repeat with a third straight Super Bowl win. No team has ever won three in a row.
Then again, the Chiefs doing something no other team has ever done appears par for the course.
Perhaps, on a par with Dimaggio’s hitting streak.