The Kansas City Chiefs entered the second half of Super Bowl LIX against the Philadelphia Eagles in a dire situation—with one pick-six that was took by a birthday player. Historically, nearly no quarterback has been able to overcome such a deficit, but one man once did.
According to recent NFL history, only one quarterback has ever won a Super Bowl after throwing a pick-six: Tom Brady in Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons. In that game, the Patriots trailed 21-3 at halftime, yet Brady orchestrated a historic comeback to win 34-28.
Brady had thrown his pick-six in the second quarter, a situation eerily similar to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who also had a costly turnover in the second quarter against the Eagles—one that led to a score. Against Brady, the Falcons capitalized on an 84-yard return touchdown.
The record for quarterbacks in that unfortunate situation is 1-13, with Patrick Mahomes being the most recent to add to that difficult scenario from which a quarterback cannot escape in a Super Bowl. The Chiefs quarterback also threw an interception, in addition to the pick-six.
Defensive Players with the Most Career Pick-Sixes in the Super Bowl
Regarding players with the most pick-sixes in a Super Bowl, Dwight Smith leads the list with two. Several other names have one pick-six each, with Cooper DeJean being the most recent addition, scoring a touchdown after an interception.
Interception and Pick-Six Are Not the Same
People often confuse interceptions with pick-sixes. While they are similar, they are different. A pick-six occurs when a player intercepts a pass and runs it back to the end zone to score a touchdown, hence the term pick-six for the six points scored.