Home/NBA

via Getty

via Getty

Patrick Mahomes just lost the chance to make history. Coming up against the struggling Broncos, the NFL week 8 game suddenly looked like the biggest of his career. With a couple of all-time records in sight, the game was becoming incredibly valuable for the quarterback. It was turning out to be even more iconic given his battle with the flu amid Denver’s harsh weather conditions. But in the end, it simply wasn’t meant to be.

The Chiefs lost the game, ending their scoreline with one digit. It was a heartbreak despite the quarterback’s efforts. Also, it was much more than just a loss as it broke Mahomes’ win streak, pulling him back from the touching the sweet taste if making a record. But the defeat washed his chances of emulating an iconic feat that a legend achieved more than 25 years ago.

Patrick Mahomes almost touched history

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

When the final whistle blew on the snowy Denver ground on Sunday, the Broncos were pumping in excitement with a 24-9 final scoreline against the Chiefs. From the season’s perspective, this isn’t a major loss, for the Chiefs, as they still remain 6-2 table toppers and the Broncos are still at the other end of the divisional table. But this matchup had much more significance than just a regular season game.

Leading to the point, Mahomes was unbeatable against the Broncos and held a 12-0 record over his divisional rivals. With the game going in his favor, Mahomes would have been the first QB in history to start his career with a 13-0 record against either of his divisional rivals. Not only that, Sunday’s win would have put him in the second position of quarterbacks going undefeated against his divisional opponents with 14 to his name. These, combined with the fact that Mahomes was diagnosed with flu earlier this week, made the matchup even more iconic. News revealed that the QB received IV treatment just to play the game under the -6 degrees Celsius weather, which is not known to be ‘ideal’ for someone with flu or pneumonia.

Read More: As Michael Jordan’s “Flu” Trend Looks Set to Catch Patrick Mahomes, Let’s Look at a List of 5 NFL Players Who Battled the Same Conundrum Previously

Chiefs lost the battle and Mahomes was thrown three years backward to restart his progress as far as the records are concerned. And it really makes us wonder if it was even a possibility despite all his greatness. After all, how someone with a sickness can display their best in such terrible conditions? Well, it has actually happened before. One GOAT, in his respective sport, pulled this off, quite literally dying afterward while playing with the flu. That too in a playoff game.

The Michael Jordan legend that escaped Mahomes

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

It was the 1997 NBA finals game 5. The Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz, tied 2-2, locked horns for a tiebreaker. Bulls’ star shooting guard Michael Jordan was being deemed the star of the show, given his otherworldly stardom by then. But just days before the clash, Jordan reportedly fell sick with flu-like symptoms.

However, a dehydrated and beat-up MJ would put up 38 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in the game to break the tie before eventually going on to win his fifth championship ring. This legendary game, to this day, is known as Jordans’s flu game. “Probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever done, I almost played myself into passing out just to win a basketball game”, the words came from the legend himself after the classic. And it’s one of the many reasons why Jordan is still, to this day, the undisputed GOAT to many.

via Imago

However, the Football gods didn’t have mercy on Mahomes. The young GOAT couldn’t emulate MJ, putting an end to his streak. Sooner or later, the high-flying 15 will come back to chase the record and Mahomes will get it. Standing on the verge of history, we hope there won’t be any snow or flu to hold him back again. And even if there is, we are certain that Patrick Mahomes would just ‘dunk’ it, in MJ style.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Watch This Story: Basketball Player Turned 7X Mr. Olympia Reveals How His Bodybuilding Journey Started