Ominous Super Bowl stat could give Eagles edge over Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes

There are countless storylines heading into Super Bowl LVII. They include (but are not limited to) brothers Jason and Travis Kelce squaring off, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid facing his old team, high school teammates A.J. Brown and Willie Gay playing against each other, and Mahomes and Jalen Hurts highlighting the first Super Bowl with two Black starting quarterbacks.

Mahomes' attempt to put an end to this stunning streak of bad luck for top passers is now another subplot to look out for. The five-time Pro Bowler not only led the NFL in passing yards (career-high 5,250), but paced the league in passing touchdowns (41) among other categories as well.

In just his second NFL season, Hall of Famer Dan Marino racked up a league-best (and ultimately career-high) 5,084 passing yards, but his Miami Dolphins were crushed by the San Francisco 49ers, 38-16, in Super Bowl XIX. Kurt Warner also recorded his career-high passing yardage total in his 2001 MVP season (4,830), but the St. Louis Rams were stunned by a young Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI, 20-17.

In his age 37 season, Rich Gannon turned back the clock to lead the league with his career-best 4,689 passing yards, only to have his Oakland Raiders fall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII, 48-21. Brady's Patriots were unable to cap off a perfect season after the quarterback's monster MVP campaign in 2007 (league-high 4,806 passing yards and 50 touchdowns), as they were upset by the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, 17-14.

Peyton Manning made history in his second season with the Denver Broncos in 2013, setting NFL records with his 5,477 passing yards and 55 touchdowns, but his team was demolished by the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII, 43-8. Despite "TB12" again putting up big numbers in 2017 with 4,577 yards through the air, New England lost in Super Bowl LII to the Eagles, 41-33.

Not only have NFL passing leaders fared poorly in Super Bowls, but all with the exception of Brady's two losses have been on the wrong end of blowouts. Mahomes and the Chiefs look to change that.