Peyton Manning and Antonio Brown were huge fans of the way Patrick Mahomes played on Sunday -- praising the QB on the way out of the game and we've got the video.
Manning was all smiles on the way out of Hard Rock Stadium while surrounded by several tough-lookin' police officers ... and told us Mahomes was "awesome."
He was also positive about 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo -- insisting we haven't seen the last of Jimmy G at the Super Bowl.
Antonio Brown was stoked about the game too ... we got him leaving Hard Rock Stadium in a sick Lamborghini ... and he talked about possibly playing with the Chiefs next season.
"I would love to go to the Chiefs," Brown told us ... "I'd love to play with Mahomes."
As for where Mahomes ranks on the NFL's top QB list -- "Behind Tom Brady, he's really up there!"
As we previously reported, Brown recently issued apologies to everyone he's wronged over the past few months ... from the Hollywood Police Dept. to the mother of his children.
Brown is obviously hoping to get a second chance in the NFL -- we'll see if he gets his wish.