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    The statistical similarities between Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson are downright eerie

    September 10, 2020

    It’s Thursday September 10th, 2020 CE and we’re hours away from football. This is always one of the most agonizing afternoons of the year, but now especially, what with the world being literally on fire and all. But tonight we get a few brief hours of respite from all that, when Patrick Mahomes’ Super Bowl-champion Chiefs and Deshaun Watson’s new-look Texans facing off on a Thursday-night edition of Sunday Night Football (we don’t get it either) that, if the pencil pushers at ESPN are to believed, is bound to be a lot closer than it looks. Here, see what we mean.

    Downright spooky just in time for spooky szn. Now it’s easy enough to cherry pick data to support your particular case, just ask your current and future elected officials. But some of these you just can’t fake. 2016 college completions and touchdowns? One or the other is a fluke, but both qualifies as statistically significant. Drafted within two picks of each other AND both Virgos? This is the buddy-cop comedy America deserves (also that Seth Rogen and Bill Hader ‘Superbad’ spinoff, but let's not get sidetracked.)

    By far the craziest stat, however, is the career regular-season wins, which are knotted at 24. Given his Super Bowl histrionics and no-look this and thats, it feels like Mahomes should have a nearly double-digit advantage on his Lonestar compatriot, but one sneaky little things tilts the scales toward parity: Watson started six games during his rookie campaign as opposed to Mahomes’ one.

    Overall this is more anecdotal than anything. One of these guys is pure potential, the other is already on his way to being the next Tom Montana, but it’s still fascinating to see what postseason success and a loaded roster will do for a QB’s public perception. There is one set of data, however, that makes the disparity between the two abundantly clear. $503 million to $160 million. Well, that and 1-0 in Super Bowl column. That counts for something too.