Brady in the way of Chiefs’ 2nd straight title
Considering that there has been no repeat NFL champion since the 2004 season, clearly some major obstructions have gotten in the way.
For the Chiefs, that hurdle wears a No. 12 jersey and is the last guy to pull off the feat.
After demolishing Buffalo for the AFC title, the Chiefs head to Tampa looking to complete the double. It’s been done eight times, twice by the Steelers. But there’s never been such a gap for a repeat winner, and after winning its first Super Bowl in a halfcentury last year, Kansas City seems primed to end that string of failures.
Except for that massive roadblock named Tom Brady.
“The job’s not finished,“Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes acknowledges. “We’re going to Tampa, we’re trying to run it back.”
To do so, young Mr. Mahomes, you’ll need to beat that old man and his penchant for collecting trophies and rings.
“We’ve just got to be ourselves,“added Mahomes, at 25 a mere 18 years younger than Brady. (Heck, Mahomes’ father is only 50 years old.) “I trust my guys over anybody.”
The rest of the world has learned to trust Brady over most anybody.
The quarterback of the Patriots when they took the Lombardi Trophy for the 2003 and 2004 seasons, Brady owns a nonpareil six rings altogether. He’s headed to his 10th Super Bowl, and the big game will be played at Raymond James Stadium, which happens to be the Buccaneers’ home field. Add another record to Brady’s ledger.
“The belief he gave everybody in this organization, that this could be done,” says Bucs coach Bruce Arians of Brady. “It only took one man.”
When Brady signed as a free agent with one of the historically worst franchises in the sport — the Bucs won their only visit to the Super Bowl 18 years ago, hadn’t been to the playoffs since the 2007 season, and have a 278429-1 overall record — faith was reborn in Tampa.