A LAST PREVIEW BEFORE THE CHIEFS AND BUCS FACE OFF
Mahomes poised to take Brady’s torch
There’s little doubt as to how history will remember Super Bowl LV between the Buccaneers and Chiefs: Not as a matchup between two worthy teams, but as Tom Brady versus Patrick Mahomes.
It’s the G.O.A.T. against the kid G.O.A.T. The winningest quarterback in NFL history against the league’s best and most popular player. One football immortal passing the torch to another who’s already on the fast track to earning that status.
In a battle underscored by mutual respect and contrasting styles, the Brady-Mahomes matchup will also be the widest age gap between opposing starting quarterbacks in Super Bowl history (18 years, 45 days).
“If you had asked us back in September who you’d like most (to match up) in the Super Bowl,” CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said, “I think most people would say Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes.”
In his 21st season, Brady is padding his record of Super Bowl appearances with a 10th as he looks for a seventh championship overall, which would also extend his own record. After playing his first 20 seasons in New England, Brady signed with the Bucs in free agency on a two-year deal.
Described by Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians as “the missing piece” to a team already stacked with defensive talent, Brady has had fair share of struggles this season. He looked lost while throwing three interceptions in a Week 9 blowout loss to New Orleans, and also threw three picks in Tampa Bay’s win over the Packers in the NFC Championship game. But the bottom line is the Bucs would not be the first team to host a Super Bowl without Brady.
On the other side, Mahomes’ stardom, and dominance, has continued to skyrocket.
The 2018 NFL MVP, surrounded by elite weapons such as tight end Travis Kelce and wideout Tyreek Hill, tossed 38 touchdowns in 15 games. The NFL’s top jersey seller for two seasons running (Brady previously held that distinction), Mahomes’ popularity is unrivaled as he seeks to make the Chiefs the first repeat Super Bowl champions since Brady’s Patriots did it in 2003 and 2004.
So it’s no surprise people are excited, from the fans to the players, especially when projecting future head-to-head comparisons of the quarterbacks’ legacies.
“My mom sent me a little meme — it was Tom with Mahomes on the back on his shoulder, like Mahomes is like a baby in his Kansas City uniform,” Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski said with a laugh. “(The caption) was like, ‘Take your son to work day — February 7th.’ It was just classic, because Mahomes could really be Tom’s son... And overall, it’s unbelievable (to already compare) what both of them have accomplished in their careers.”
Mahomes joked that he probably first became aware of Brady on “Sept. 17, 1995, when I was born.” Brady, at that time,
had recently graduated from high school. But beyond the generational gap between the 25year-old and the 43-year-old, there’s also the obvious contradiction in how they achieve success.
For the mobile Mahomes, 23.3% of his pass attempts this season have been on the run, which is the third-highest rate in the league. Brady, meanwhile, has attempted just 3.1% of his pass attempts on the run, a league low, as a true pocket passer. The elder quarterback marveled at that statistical disparity and at Mahomes’ uncanny ability to extend the pocket backward.
“I love how he drifts back in the pocket, takes it about six yards deep, then drops back to about 15 yards, puts his right foot in the ground and then just flicks that ball 60 yards down the field on a dime to Tyreek or something like that,” Brady said on NFL Network. “He just has a great awareness of the pocket, incredible vision of the field, and he knows exactly when to get rid of the ball.”
Mahomes shot admiration back Brady’s way, noting “the way he’s able to dissect defenses before the snap is something that I truly admire.”
“I’m trying to get to that level,” Mahomes said. “The way he’s able to move within the pocket and to be able to reset his feet and to be completely calm and still make the throw right on the money no matter who’s around him, is something that I’ll have continue to work on. As I continue in my career, I’m going to try to do whatever I can to watch tape on him, because he’s doing it the right way and you can tell by the Super Bowl championships he has and rings on his fingers.”
If you ask Brady, Sunday will be the latest Super Bowl chapter in Mahomes’ career, but certainly not the last.
“He’s going to be in this game quite a few more times, in my opinion,” Brady told NFL Network.