Tom Brady knew in 2018 that Patrick Mahomes was going to be great
Tom Brady outlines what he saw in Patrick Mahomes after defeating his Kansas City Chiefs in the 2018 AFC Championship game.
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Tom Brady understood Patrick Mahomes was destined to be great after defeating him in 2018 AFC Championship game (Image via NFL/X)
Super Bowl LIX will see Patrick Mahomes lead his Kansas City Chiefs to try and win the Super Bowl for the fifth time. He also has the chance to help his team script history by becoming the first to win three-straight rings. On this journey towards greatness, it started with a loss to another great Tom Brady.
2018 was Patrick Mahomes‘ first full season as a starter for the Chiefs. That year, he justified the Chiefs’ decision to move up and draft him with his first NFL MVP award. With Super Bowl hopes in the air, they rested during the Wild Card rounds and soundly beat the Indianapolis Colts in the Divisional round.
In the AFC Championship game, Tom Brady and his Patriots led for much, but then, Mahomes staged a fourth quarter comeback to help the Chiefs level. But then, the then dynastical Patriots received the ball in OT and went on to score and win. However, Brady saw something in Mahomes, and he revealed what he told the young QB after the game.
I went in the locker room. Hey, I’ve watched you all year. Keep doing what you are doing. You’re a great leader and I know you’re going to be back here. You are on to the right stuff and just never lose track of that.
Tom Brady said
.@TomBrady reveals advice to Patrick Mahomes after the 2018 AFC Championship game:
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) February 7, 2025
"I went in the locker room… You're a great leader and I know you're going to be back here." pic.twitter.com/MQwHNCu1OP
The now FOX analyst went on to tell Colin Cowherd that he said that to Mahomes, not because of his mindboggling skills. Instead, it was the intangibles the Chiefs QB has and how he relates to his teammates that stood out.
Motivations from losing to Tom Brady shaped Patrick Mahomes’ career
That was the first playoff loss of Mahomes to Tom Brady, but from that game, the Chiefs and the Kansas City Chiefs learned a lot. They understood that to be the best, they had to do what the best did. That was to control the game, and place themselves in a position to win.
On the last drive in regulation, Mahomes could not complete a pass that could have moved the chains forward. They were forced to settle for a field goal, but had they scored a touchdown, they could have won the game.
Since then, the Chiefs have implemented that strategy which has made them a dangerous team in the closing stages of a game. Mahomes was Super Bowl MVP the following season as he won his first ring. Then the next season, they went back to the big game, only to lose to Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
That game is where Patrick Mahomes looked vulnerable for the first time in his career. The Buccaneers defense stopped him despite having a plethora of weapons at his disposal. That game made him slightly alter the way he plays.
It made him become mature as a game manager which he has used to earn the last two rings. Now he is getting ready to win his third straight in Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. If he wins, he will join Brady in the GOAT conversation despite being three rings short.
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Joseph Varghese
(2447 Articles Published)