Patrick Mahomes vs. Jimmy Garoppolo: Super Bowl 2020 Quarterback Comparison Gives Chiefs Big Edge

As is the case virtually every year, the two starting quarterbacks are the favorites to win the Super Bowl LIV MVP award. Patrick Mahomes leads the way with nearly even odds to be recognized as the best player in the 2020 NFL championship game. Jimmy Garoppolo isn’t far behind with just north of 2/1 odds.

It makes sense that Mahomes is the favorite, given that the Kansas City Chiefs are slight betting favorites over the San Francisco 49ers Sunday at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium. There is also no debate regarding which team has the advantage at the sport’s most important position.

Mahomes isn’t simply the best quarterback in Super Bowl LIV—he is the best player on either team and the top signal caller in the NFL. Mahomes might be the player in football, period.

That’s certainly how Mahomes will be viewed by much of the league if he’s able to conquer San Francisco’s defense on the NFL’s biggest stage. The 49ers have the best unit in the NFC, one that has made Kirk Cousins and Aaron Rodgers look pedestrian this postseason.

There have been 35 opportunities for opposing defenses to get the better of Mahomes since he entered the league in 2017. Almost all of them have failed.

Including the playoffs, Mahomes has a 27-8 record as a starting quarterback. The Chiefs have averaged 32.6 points per game, failing to score at least 23 points just once.

Mahomes won the 2018 NFL MVP award in his first year as a starter, leading the NFL with 50 touchdown passes and 8.6 yards per attempt. A dislocated kneecap forced him to miss the better part of three games in the 2019 regular season, but the quarterback still managed to throw for 4,031 yards, 26 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Mahomes averages 287.9 passing yards with a 108.9 passer rating and a 1.6% interception rate in the regular season. The 24-year-old has managed to raise his performance in four playoff games, averaging 297.0 passing yards per game with a 115.0 passer rating, 13 total touchdowns and no turnovers.

An improved defense helped the Chiefs earn a first-round bye, but it’s Mahomes’ brilliance that has Kansas City in the Super Bowl. The quarterback engineered a 24-point comeback in the divisional playoffs and a 10-point comeback in the AFC Championship Game, totaling 721 yards from scrimmage. The Chiefs scored 86 points combined in their postseason victories over the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans.

While Mahomes carried Kansas City through the AFC playoffs, Garoppolo was along for the ride in San Francisco’s two wins. The quarterback went 11-19 for 131 yards, an interception and a touchdown in the divisional round against the Minnesota Vikings. He only had to attempt eight passes in the NFC Championship Game, completing six passes for 77 yards as the 49ers routed the Green Bay Packers.

A dominant defense and rushing attack powered the 49ers through the NFC playoffs, just as it did for most of the regular season.

Garoppolo had an uneven 2019 campaign, failing to post an average passer rating (90.4) in seven of his 16 starts. The 28-year-old has had a triple-digit passer rating with more than 250 passing yards on six occasions, a feat Mahomes has accomplished eight times this season with three fewer chances to do so.

But there are times when it’s easy to see why the 49ers rewarded Garoppolo with a $137.5 million contract in 2018, despite having such little experience.

Garoppolo was nearly perfect in Week 12 against the Packers. He threw for 349 yards and four scores in a 48-46 win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 14. Both victories secured the No. 1 seed for San Francisco.

The quarterback has led the 49ers to several fourth-quarter comebacks. He went 5-0 as a starter in 2017, his first year in San Francisco.

Because of a torn ACL last season, Garoppolo entered this season with just 10 career starts.

Garoppolo’s overall numbers in 2019 rank among the NFL’s best. He finished third in yards per attempt (8.4) and fifth in both completion percentage (69.1) and touchdown passes (27). Garoppolo was eighth in passer rating (102.0) and 12th in passing yards (3,978). He was tied for eighth with 13 interceptions.

Garoppolo does have two Super Bowl rings. That’s two more than Mahomes owns, winning titles as Tom Brady’s backup in the 2014 and 2016 seasons.

The team with the better quarterback doesn’t always win the Super Bowl. Nick Foles beat Brady in Super Bowl LII. Two years prior, it was Peyton Manning defeating MVP winner Cam Newton, even though the Denver Broncos’ quarterback was in the twilight of his career and one of the league’s worst starters.

Last year’s Super Bowl featured 16 total points. Neither quarterback threw a touchdown pass. Brady had a 71.4 passer rating. Jared Goff was held to 229 yards and a 57.9 passer rating in his Super Bowl debut.

A quarterback has won the Super Bowl MVP award in nine of the last 13 years.