Mahomes has been tying Brady every weekend this season. Fastest to 98, fastest to 99, and now fastest to 100, the mark Brady set across more than two decades at New England and Tampa Bay, matched by a quarterback still in his ninth year as a starter.

He saw the joke before anyone else.

“I’m like, ‘When did Tom lose another game?’” Mahomes said on Sunday, as the Chiefs quarterback told reporters at Arrowhead Stadium. “Because I feel like every game I win, I’m tied.”

The Chiefs moved to 5-0 at the top of the AFC. The night belonged to the defense, not the quarterback: Mahomes finished 23 of 30 for 272 yards with no touchdowns and one interception, and played without his top two receivers, Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy. He was not going to let any of that dilute the number.

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“It’s always an honor to be in any conversation as far as winning football with him as the GOAT,” Mahomes said, according to Yahoo Sports.

Reid: ‘He’s going to have a lot more than that’

Head coach Andy Reid went straight past the milestone to the next one.

“We’re lucky to have him, right? We all know that. We’re lucky to have him. He does a heck of a job playing. 100 wins. He’s going to have a lot more than that down the road,” Reid said.

The gap to Brady, of course, is still enormous. Brady finished his career with 251 regular-season wins and seven Super Bowl titles across 23 seasons, retiring at 45. Mahomes is 31 and has three Super Bowl rings on the shelf.

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A different kind of win

Mahomes made no secret of wanting a louder night statistically. The Chargers’ pressure, and the shape of the game, decided otherwise.

“I want to be able to throw three touchdowns, four touchdowns, five touchdowns every game,” he said. “But when the defense is playing like they did today, you can’t force it.”

He framed the shift as something that has come with time.

“As I’ve gone throughout my career, I think I’ve gotten better at winning. It’s not always pretty.”

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Mahomes also pointed out that Brady is a long way off in every other direction, the career win total, the longevity, the age at which Brady was still winning Super Bowls. He had tied the pace, not the body of work.

Kansas City’s next game is at the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, 25 October at Lumen Field.

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