NEW ORLEANS — If the Philadelphia Eagles are going to win Super Bowl LIX, they’re going to have to do something that no NFL team has ever done: Beat Patrick Mahomes in an indoor stadium.
This year’s Super Bowl will be held at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, which is good news for Mahomes, because he’s been unbeatable when playing indoors throughout his career. Mahomes has played a total of 15 games that came in either a dome or in a retractable roof stadium where the roof was closed and the Chiefs quarterback has gone 15-0 in those games.
Here’s a look at all 15 of those games:
|
Date-Opponent |
Mahomes’ numbers |
|
Week 4, 2019: Chiefs 34-30 over Lions |
315 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT |
|
Week 2, 2020: Chiefs 23-20 over Chargers (OT) |
302 yard, 2 TD, 0 INT |
|
Week 11, 2020: Chiefs 35-31 over Raiders |
348 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
|
Week 15, 2020: Chiefs 32-29 over Saints |
254 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT |
|
Week 10, 2021: Chiefs 41-14 over Raiders |
406 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT |
|
Week 15, 2021: Chiefs 34-28 ove Chargers (OT) |
410, 3 TD, 1 INT |
|
Week 1, 2022: Chiefs 44-21 over Cardinals |
360 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT |
|
Week 11, 2022: Chiefs 30-27 over Chargers |
329 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT |
|
Week 15, 2022: Chiefs 30-24 over Texans (OT) |
336 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT |
|
Week 18, 2022: Chiefs 31-13 over Raiders |
202 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT |
|
Week 5, 2023: Chiefs 27-20 over Vikings |
281 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT |
|
Week 12, 2023: Chiefs 31-17 over Raiders |
298 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT |
|
Week 3, 2024: Chiefs 22-17 over Falcons |
217 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
|
Week 4, 2024: Chiefs 17-10 over Chargers |
245 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
|
Week 8, 2024: Chiefs 27-20 over Raiders |
262 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
In those 15 games, that’s 4,565 yards with 30 touchdowns and just five interceptions.
That’s an average of 304.3 yards and two touchdowns per game. To put that yardage number in perspective, the NFL’s leading passer in 2024 (Joe Burrow) didn’t even average 290 yards per game, so averaging over 300 yards per game in a 15-game period is wildly impressive.
Mahomes only has six games in his career where he’s thrown at least five touchdown passes and two of those came indoors.
Although the Chiefs quarterback has been dominant when he plays indoors, he had no idea that he was 15-0.
“I never knew that [stat] until this week,” Mahomes said Tuesday from New Orleans when asked about his unblemished record.
The three-time Super Bowl champion also couldn’t pinpoint what makes him so good when playing indoors, but he did have one theory: The weather is always perfect when you play inside.
“Honestly, I have no idea,” Mahomes said when asked why he thrives indoors. “You just go out there in perfect conditions and you go out there and play your best football.”
Mahomes pointed out that he also seems to play well when the weather is below freezing, and he’s not wrong: Including the playoffs, he’s gone 15-3 when the temperature is 32 degrees or below.
“I feel like freezing weather always gives us an advantage as well, just playing your best football in the best environment possible,” Mahomes said.
Mahomes did lose one game in an “indoor” stadium, but that came against the Colts back in 2022 on a night where the Indy’s retractable roof was open, so that goes down as an outdoor game.
Although Mahomes has thrived indoors, if the 15 prior games are any indication, there could still be some serious drama on Super Bowl Sunday: 12 of those 15 indoor wins came by one score and three of those 15 went to overtime.
The Chiefs will be looking to make NFL history in Super Bowl LIX by becoming the first team ever to win three straight Super Bowls and the Eagles will be looking to make history be becoming the first team ever to beat Patrick Mahomes indoors.
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