Everyone awaits to see what Patrick Mahomes’ career looks like moving forward. With Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s release, it’s the perfect time to look at Mahomes’ career through the lens of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. Both journeys began around a decade ago, showcasing early success, major setbacks, and a new beginning.
In 2017, Mahomes’ career in the NFL began on the final week of the season. The Kansas City Chiefs were 9-6 heading into the game and had the AFC West locked up. They had nothing to play for, so they wisely used this opportunity to see what they had in their rookie quarterback.
The Texas Tech alumnus finished the game 22/35 with 284 yards and had one interception with no passing touchdowns. Despite the mediocre stats, Mahomes passed the eye test. He made numerous throws that had fans in awe.
The first-ever completion went for 51 yards. The game ended with a 11-play, 67-yard drive engineered by Mahomes in the fourth quarter. That helped break the 24-24 tie as the Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos 27-24. Kansas City knew they had something special.
It’s a similar story to how Holland’s Spider-Man began. In 2016, he was recruited by Iron Man to fight in an “Avengers Civil War” against Captain America. He held his ground against formidable opponents such as Falcon, Bucky, and even Captain America himself. The performance was far from perfect, but the potential was palpable.
The 2018-2019 season was Mahomes’ statement of arrival. In his opening season as a starter, he threw for 5,097 yards, 50 touchdowns, and had a passer rating of 113.8 in 16 games and won the Most Valuable Player. It was a near-flawless beginning to a career.
There, however, was one roadblock: taking the torch from Tom Brady. The New England Patriots faced off against the Chiefs twice in the 2018-2019 season. Brady and company won both times, including the AFC championship game 37-31.
It was clear that Mahomes was not ready for that yet. Simultaneously, Spider-Man: Homecoming debuted Holland’s Spider-Man onto the scene. He was an exciting young prospect that did well on the street level but was eager to take the torch from Tony Stark as the world’s saviour.
The young superhero did well tracking down an illegal weapons dealer in the Vulture. The major roadblock, as mentioned, was his ambition to take up the torch from Iron Man, which he was not yet ready for. That ambition almost had thousands of people killed on a ferry, which led to a feud between Stark and Parker. Towards the end of the movie, though, he redeemed himself and was named an Avenger.
Overall, it was a successful opening ‘audition’ for both the young men.
From the 2019-2023 seasons, Mahomes’ career was untouchable. He was universally regarded as the best quarterback in the league. In that span, he had 22,682 passing yards and 169 passing touchdowns, which led the league. He also was able to win another MVP.
During that span, the team’s success was incomprehensible. Mahomes led Kansas City to four Super Bowls and won three of them. In that span, he had to make some major adjustments to his game. After a 31-9 loss in the Super Bowl to Brady(again) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021, there was a lull in production.
The opening seven games of the season after were a struggle. The Chiefs started 3-4, and Mahomes was turning the ball over at an alarming rate. He had nine interceptions in seven games with three multi-turnover games. He, astutely, eventually adjusted to what defenses were doing to him.
After the Super Bowl beatdown, teams took Tampa Bay’s approach of playing two high safeties. This was to prevent the Chiefs’ star quarterback’s big-play ability. It worked for a brief moment, but greatness always prevails.
In the two seasons after that seven-game skid, Mahomes won both Super Bowls and won an MVP. The same can be said for Parker. The prime began in Avengers: Infinity War. The young hero was able to take on creatures from space and played an integral part in a plan that had Thanos on the ropes on his home planet Titan.
Like Mahomes, Parker faced a setback. He was snapped out of existence for five years, and when he returned, he lost his mentor in Stark. In the movie right after, Spider-Man: Far From Home, he lost trust in his own abilities and was wounded by grief.
Eventually, Spider-Man, after being deceived by early Quentin Beck(Mysterio), began trusting his own abilities, such as Spider-Sense, and eventually took down Mysterio. That was a new beginning for him.
Similar to how Mahomes’ career had a new beginning with a play style change. After the abundance of Cover Two by opponents, he mastered the art of short passes and quick decisions. He no longer needed to just rely on athleticism and big-play ability, just like how Parker mastered his Spider Sense so he didn’t have to rely heavily on Stark technology.
The 2024 NFL season showcased a crack in the armor for Mahomes’ career and the Chiefs’ dynasty. Kansas City finished the season 15-2 and the top seed, but it looked a bit different. They were no longer blowing out teams as they won 12 one-score games, and the QB had his second straight mediocre statistical season.
In 16 games, Mahomes finished with just 26 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 3,928 passing yards and a 93.5 passer rating. That was the first time in his career that he finished with less than 4,000 passing yards when playing a full season.
The season wasn’t a failure, but it ended in disaster. Kansas City lost 40-22 to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. With how dangerously close the team was living on the edge all season, it wasn’t a surprising ending. The same can be said for Holland’s third Spider-Man movie: No Way Home.
The plot begins with Parker, with the help of Dr. Strange, wanting to cast a spell on the world so that only a select number of people should know his identity. For context, Mysterio leaked his identity to the whole world and framed him as a murderer, so people didn’t take too kindly to him.
The worst part was that his friends Ned Leeds and Michelle Jones(MJ) were affected by Parker’s identity. Their dream school, MIT, rejected him because of their disdain for Spider-Man and rejected the friends for their affiliation.
To fix this issue, Parker wanted to cast the spell so people, other than those close to him, didn’t know he was Spider-Man so they had a better chance of getting into college. Like Mahomes and the Chiefs, he was living dangerously on the edge, messing with spells.
Then what came after for both Mahomes and Parker was tragedy. For the QB, it was the dreaded 2025 NFL season where he had an 89.6 passer rating(career low) and suffered an ACL tear.
For the first time in Mahomes’ career, the Chiefs missed the playoffs, and he suffered a serious injury. Likewise, Spider-Man had to suffer the consequences of messing with spells and time and eventually had to have his name forgotten by everyone to keep his loved ones safe.
For the longest time, Mahomes’ career was defined by incomprehensible success. For the first time now, he has tasted real failure. When he returns, it won’t be the same team he had for this last half-decade.
Just like Parker has to rediscover himself without anyone remembering him, Mahomes now has to prove he can build a championship career after adversity. The legacy is secure, but his next act may define him even more.
A Brand New Day.
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