Super Bowl QB Patrick Mahomes says he idolized Matthew Stafford growing up

On Tuesday, Mahomes was asked which QBs he watched growing up, listing the Rams QB as one of them

For the last seven years, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been one of the most dominant players in the NFL not named Tom Brady. His no look passes and ability to throw from an unstable base, as well as different arm levels, has been nothing short of impressive.

At the Super Bowl media day on Tuesday, the former NFL MVP quarterback was asked which QB’s he idolized as a kid, and among the list of quarterbacks Mahomes mentioned was current Los Angeles Rams signal-caller Matthew Stafford.

“If there was one quarterback… I loved watching Aaron Rodgers, I liked watching Brett Favre, I liked watching Matthew Stafford,” Mahomes said. “Guys that were kind of extending plays, making plays happen. I liked watching Tony Romo a ton, growing up in that East Texas area.”

This makes total sense, considering Mahomes and Stafford have similar playing styles despite their eight-year age difference. The way the two quarterbacks can make side-arm and no-look passes seem easy is similar to each other, but virtually unmatched outside of them, especially considering their rate of success completing the difficult throws.

As Mahomes continued with his answer, he mentioned that while he may be the one getting the hype for the crazy passes, Stafford is one of the guys that started all of that kind of stuff.

“Everybody talks about the sidearm throws and the no-look passes — I mean that’s from watching guys like Matthew Stafford play that I’ve been able to do it.” Mahomes continued “I kind of got some hype coming into the league, but I mean you watch the film, he’s the guy that kind of started that stuff off, him and Brett Favre. And so it really is cool to be able to kind of be along those guys now, and be able to have my own impact on the game. I mean, those are the guys that I watched, that influenced me to be the quarterback that I am.”

Stafford famously completed one of the most clutch no-look passes in NFL history on the biggest stage possible. In Super Bowl LVI, he hit Cooper Kupp for a 22-yard gain to keep the Rams drive alive, leading to what would be the game-winning touchdown.

Mahomes will hope to have a similar Super Bowl drive to Stafford’s, as he and the Chiefs take on one of LA’s biggest NFC West rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, for a chance at hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. With a victory over Niners this Sunday, Mahomes would win his third ring in five years, putting him on pace with Tom Brady, who also had won his third ring at age 28.