‘Good Morning Football’ calls Patrick Mahomes the closest thing to Michael Jordan

Arrowhead Pride lobbyist Peter Schrager was at it again this morning on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football,” calling Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes the closest thing the NFL has to six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan. After the conclusion of ESPN’s “The Last Dance” this past Sunday, the comparison is timely.

Watch the full segment below:

Schrager lists five reasons for why he feels that way

• Mahomes silenced his critics early on. Mahomes came out in his first year as a starter by defeating Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. It might be easy to forget now, but we’re just a few years removed from the Steelers having the Chiefs’ number being a thing. Chiefs fans hardly blink at Pittsburgh nowadays.
• Mahomes overcame obstacles of previous failures. Mahomes lost the AFC title game to the New England Patriots in 2018, then beat the Patriots the next regular season. The Chiefs lost to the Titans in the 2019 regular season, and then came back to beat them at Arrowhead Stadium, avenging both losses.
• Mahomes saves his best for the big stage. Mahomes went 72 of 112 for 901 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions in the 2019 playoffs, leading the Chiefs back from three double-digit deficits to win the championship. Mahomes did not play his best game in the Super Bowl for three quarters — but as Andy Reid instructed, he “kept firing,” and the final quarter’s performance made the difference.
• Mahomes has insane vision. Schrager brought up his passing touchdown to Travis Kelce in Cleveland against the Browns and his jump-pass against the Tennessee Titans, not even mentioning the no-look against the Baltimore Ravens or the sidearm against the Indianapolis Colts. This reminded me of Mahomes explaining to NBC Sports’ Peter King about how the no-look came about. He has the raw vision, but the circus throws are actually practiced.
• Mahomes has relentless intensity. I actually noted this part of the comparison almost a year ago.

Calling it an underrated aspect (at the time), I wrote about how Mahomes has found the perfect mix of in-game competitor and team and community representative when the game is over. As we saw in Jordan’s documentary, sometimes Jordan would allow his competitiveness to carry over into post-game comments and pressers. They indeed share this intensity — as Schrager described — but even at 24, the Chiefs quarterback has mastered leaving it on the court... or in his case, the field.