Patrick Mahomes looks to earn a third Super Bowl title in Las Vegas on Sunday against the very San Francisco 49ers who he beat four years ago to secure his first; watch Super Bowl LVIII live on Sky Sports NFL, Sunday, with build-up from 10pm ahead of kickoff at 11.30pm
Saturday 10 February 2024 20:32, UK
When Tom Brady finally bowed out of the NFL last February at the age of 45, he did so as the undisputed GOAT. But, just one year on, his legacy of a record seven Super Bowl titles is already under threat: and he goes by the name of Patrick Mahomes.
Mahomes, aged 28, already has two Super Bowl rings to his name and, on Sunday, has the chance to make that three with victory over the very same San Francisco 49ers against whom he secured his first four years ago.
In doing so, Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs would also become the NFL's first repeat champions since a certain Mr Brady and the New England Patriots accomplished the feat nearly two decades ago (2003 and 2004 seasons).
The 49ers, out for revenge, represent a formidable obstacle in Mahomes' way of that third title, with San Francisco - led by play-calling savant Kyle Shanahan at head coach - boasting a top-five offense in all major categories, backed up by a defense which, though shaky at spells during the playoffs, has been one of the league's more consistent units over the past few years.
The 49ers team also now have their answer at QB, with Jimmy Garoppolo and his overthrown deep ball for Emmanuel Sanders replaced by 'Mr Irrelevant' Brock Purdy - the 2023 season's top-rated passer - who goes in search of his Super Bowl fairy-tale moment.
But, whether Mahomes emerges from the neon-lit landscape of Las Vegas as a two or three-time Super Bowl champion, the target of Brady, and his seven rings, will continue to loom large.
Mahomes certainly sees Brady's longevity in the game as his goal, with hopefully a two-handed haul of jewellery to match. "Fifteen years seems long, but Brady did it and some other guys have done it so, I'm going to strive to see if I can do it as well," Mahomes said this week.
"I mean, I'm not even close to halfway [in my career]… ask me that question in 15 years, and I'll see if I can get close to seven [rings]. But seven seems like a long way away still."
He added: "My career goals have always been the same and it's to not have any regrets. No matter what I do, I'm going to give everything I have to the game.
"Whatever that ends up with, how many Super Bowl rings that is, however many wins that is, I know that I gave everything I have."
Whether Mahomes ultimately matches Brady's haul remains to be seen, but he is certainly keeping pace with him for early-career success.
Through seven seasons, Mahomes has the edge on Brady in every major category, his 28,424 passing yards and 231 total touchdowns dwarfing the GOAT's 21,564 yards through the air and 150 total TDs at the same stage.
He also already has two league MVP awards to his name, with Brady not earning the first of his three until after his eighth season in the league. As for Super Bowl appearances, this is Mahomes' fourth (Brady had three, winning them all), following on from reaching the AFC Championship game in each of his six seasons as a starter - an NFL first.
"What he's doing is remarkable," former NFL quarterback Chris Simms said on Pro Football Talk this week. "The guy is special. There's an aura about him. Number 15 is magic man.
"It's insane what we're watching... and he's not going anywhere. He's really just starting to hit the prime of his career.
"He doesn't feel pressure. Down to the [Philadelphia] Eagles in the Super Bowl, down to the 49ers… there's nothing that's going to ever phase him now. He has accomplished it all."
As Simms states, in his two prior Super Bowl wins, Mahomes carried the team on his back to turn a 10-point deficit with six-and-a-half minutes to go in their first title showdown with the 49ers into a stunning 31-20 triumph. Last year, down 10 to the Eagles at the half and on an injured ankle, he tossed three touchdowns - two in the fourth quarter - to clinch another memorable victory.
Heck, even his lone Super Bowl loss, to the Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers, contained "some of the best incomplete passes in NFL history," according to PFT's Mike Florio.
Mahomes, again not fully fit for that contest - struggling with turf toe - couldn't prevent his team from being defeated 31-9, despite some remarkable, gravity-defying throws from the KC quarterback, not helped by drops from his receiving corps.
"The one they lost, if he didn't have a toe that literally needed to be operated on three days after Super Bowl and have both of his offensive tackles hurt, he'd have won that game too," Florio said.
"Just think, if that game had gone a different way, he'd already have three and Brady would have six.
"You've got to be tormented by that sort of loss when you know that you've climbed the mountain twice and you're trying to climb it seven times.
"For Mahomes, the ultimate fuel is 'I know I need five more'. And he understands, there's only so many of these chances you get."
For long periods, it didn't look like this 2023 season would provide Mahomes with another of those chances to eat into Brady's sizable silverware advantage, the Chiefs scraping into the playoffs off the back of five defeats in 10.
For much of the year, Kansas City's usually-explosive offense struggled to get out of first gear, ranking 15th in points per game (21.8) and only just sneaking into the top 10 in terms of yards per game (351.3), with Mahomes hindered by an underperforming crop of receivers marred by dropped catches.
Defensive schemes across the league also rallied to blunt the magic man, with Mahomes posting a career-low in passing yards per game (261.4), to go with 27 touchdowns passes (second only to his 26 when playing two games fewer in 2019) and a career-high mark of 14 interceptions. His passer rating of 92.6 was also a new low.
The story of the season has arguably been Kansas City's defense, the unit ranking behind only the Baltimore Ravens in points per game allowed (17.3) and second to just the Cleveland Browns in terms of yards per game given up (289.8).
The Chiefs ultimately did just about enough to clinch the AFC West division title for an eighth-straight year - the longest active streak in the league and second-longest in NFL history behind only the 11 straight seasons managed by, yes, you guessed it, Brady and the Patriots (2009-2019).
And for all their mid-season wobbles, the defending champions have turned it on at precisely the right time, arriving at Super Bowl LVIII playing some of their best football, having impressively toppled the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and AFC top-seeds the Ravens through the playoffs - the latter two victories coming in Mahomes' first career road games in the postseason.
"This is starting to feel a little bit Patriot-ish," NBC Sports writer Peter King said on PFT. "[The Chiefs] weren't even that good this year and, yet, here they are."
The NFL, fresh from the Brady-Patriots dynasty that dominated the past two decades, is perhaps not ready for another one, leading to Mahomes and the Chiefs assuming the role of villains during Super Bowl week in Vegas, certainly based off the crowd reactions so far. They're not in Kansas anymore.
Greeted by a chorus of boos at 'Opening Night', Chiefs tight end - and Taylor Swift sidekick - Travis Kelce said: "Y'all are firing me up, you're making me want to play right now, baby.
"I love the boos more than I love the cheers, baby. Keep them coming!"
Mahomes, meanwhile, told the crowd, "I appreciate it, Niners Nation, we're here," while he added in an interview with ESPN: "I can definitely sense it [being the villain]…
"As long as you keep winning, teams start to not like you, and I want to keep winning. So if that means some of the other teams and other fan bases aren't going to like me, I'll try to still have a smile on my face and not be a bad example.
"I can be that villain for them if they need me to be."
And the NFL better brace themselves for it being a role Mahomes relishes for years to come.
"Mahomes is only getting better; he's hitting his prime," Florio said. "If you don't like this, folks, find something else to do on your Sundays during the football season, because he's 28 and it's going to continue to be the Chiefs for years to come."
Simms added: "He's already in GOAT-ville. He's already up there with Brady, [Peyton] Manning, [Brett] Favre, [Dan] Marino and [John] Elway.
"He's got some work to do [in catching Brady], but I don't put it past him. There's a drive there that is tangible.
"He has a lot of the same qualities as Brady, a sort of, 'if you want to beat me, you're going to have to dedicate your life to it'. The Chiefs are going to be here for a while."
Mahomes, himself, said ahead of his latest Super Bowl visit: "To be in my fourth one, it truly is surreal and I just try to appreciate it every single time.
"You don't know if this will be your last, so I just try to maximize these opportunities."
With Vegas, fittingly, the setting, you'd feel pretty confident placing a bet that it won't be.
Watch Super Bowl LVIII from Las Vegas live on Sky Sports on Sunday February 11, with build-up from 10pm ahead of kickoff at 11.30pm; Neil Reynolds and Phoebe Schecter will be joined in the studio by former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and Miami Dolphins defensive lineman Christian Wilkins
