3 reasons why Patrick Mahomes will never be able to match Tom Brady’s legacy
Two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes appears closer to his fourth Super Bowl win, but can he ever surpass the GOAT Tom Brady?
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Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes (Image via Imago)
Fortune is a funny thing. Towards the end of Tom Brady’s career, fans were beginning to cherish every game of the quarterback as one thing was clear, it would take a decade or more to see a player of his caliber match his accomplishments. However, a first-round pick in 2017 wound up showing that he has the potential to match, if not exceed Brady’s legacy.
Since Patrick Mahomes became the starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, he has gone on to win three Super Bowls and MVP in those games, and two NFL MVP Honors. He made fans believe that surpassing Tom Brady was possible and from his style of play and mentality, it quickly became clear that he was the one going to beat the NFL legend.
As Patrick Mahomes gears up to create history by making a run to win his third-straight Super Bowl, the argument for him to be included in the GOAT conversation gets stronger. However, irrespective of how many championships he earns or how many yards and touchdowns he throws for, when he decides to retire, Mahomes will still end up second to Tom Brady in terms of the best quarterbacks to ever do it.
Here are three reasons why Patrick Mahomes will never be able to build a greater legacy than Tom Brady:
1. The Underdog Factor
Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes started their NFL careers in drastically different ways. The latter was a top pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and the expectations were high from him. The Chiefs trusted him to lead the franchise after Alex Smith, but that was not the case for Tom Brady.
The quarterback barely made it into the NFL after being the 199th overall pick in his draft class. After that, he was the third quarterback behind two backups to starter Drew Bledsoe. Nothing was expected of Brady, but he worked himself up to the position of backup quarterback and when Drew Bledsoe went down with an injury, he stepped in and as a sophomore took the Patriots to a Super Bowl victory.
Brady went on to shatter numerous records and set new ones over the span of 23 seasons putting him in a class of his own. Tom Brady does not have as much talent as Patrick Mahomes, but his work ethic made him better than those with god-gifted abilities.
To say that he exceeded expectations would be an understatement and having the career he did makes it hard for another player to eclipse his legacy.
2. The LFG Mentality
Tom Brady carries himself around with a pleasant smile on most occasions but only those that have gone up against him know how fierce of a competitor he really is. Patrick Mahomes is a motivated athlete, but he does not instill fear in his opponents as Brady does.
The run-up Brady takes across the length of the field yelling “Let’s F***ing Go!” before every game gives goosebumps to all on the field. His mentality truly separates him from Mahomes as he never gave up, and year-over-year, his hunger to win just increased.
To date, the Patriots 28-3 comeback against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI remains the greatest display of perseverance and Brady’s keep calm mentality. Put Mahomes in that situation and there is no guarantee that he will come out on top but the same cannot be said for Brady. He figures out a way to win and his preparation is meticulous that he knows the tendencies of the defense inside-out.
Anger was good because it was motivating. The more I could create an enemy, the more I want to go out and kill those guys.
Tom Brady broke his mindset down while speaking with Patrick Bet-David of Valuetainment.
Interestingly enough, this was the same mindset that Michael Jordan had. Like Brady, he too picked up on the slightest of things and turned them into grudges. Say what you might about Patrick Mahomes, but his mentality is on a different wavelength than Brady.
3. The level of competition
Tom Brady went up against the greatest defensive players of all time. He played against the likes of Ed Reed and Ray Lewis in a time where linebackers really hit the quarterbacks hard while sacking them. He earned the respect of his competitors.
Ray Lewis, who is known for playing mind games on opposing quarterbacks, could not get into Brady’s head. “People can hate on him, y’all can be mad at him, but he’s the best quarterback we’ve ever seen,” Lewis expressed admiration for Brady in one of his interviews.
Patrick Mahomes plays in a quarterback-friendly era of football where defenses are not as physical. Tom Brady, who was always cover.com’s betting favorite, changed the game, and his impact resulted in the league taking measures that today help QBs play until their 40s.
The decisive factor that ends this debate is the fact that Patrick Mahomes never beats Tom Brady when it mattered the most. The seven-time Super Bowl champion asserted his dominance over the man chasing his legacy by beating him twice in the playoffs, once in the AFC Championship, and then in the Super Bowl.
Mahomes will have a great career, one that will look up to by generations to come but he cannot eclipse Tom Brady’s legacy because their stories, attitudes, contributions to the game, and approach are different.
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Sumedh Joshi
(2241 Articles Published)