Kansas City Chiefs fans will be hoping their team can repeat as Super Bowl champs after winning Super Bowl 54 last year. Photo by Brock Wegner on Unsplash.
By Jeremy Gonzalez, Co-Sports Editor
At the conclusion of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 12 road win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, CBS analyst Tony Romo said he “wouldn’t be surprised to see the two teams met in Tampa once again,” only this time they would be competing for the Super Bowl.
Fast forward to the present, and here we are, days away from seeing the thrilling rematch between the Chiefs and Bucs at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, with the Lombardi trophy on the line.
Since that 27-24 defeat in late November, the Bucs have not lost. Tampa Bay won their final four regular season games and three road victories in the playoffs to get to the Super Bowl. And a big reason why Tampa Bay is the first host city to ever have its team play in the Super Bowl is because they have the greatest quarterback of all time leading their offense; Tom Brady.
Tampa Bay pulled off the biggest signing of the 2020 offseason when they lured the 43-year-old Brady to Florida after he spent 20 years in New England, dominating the NFL every season he put on a Patriots uniform.
Brady has won a record six Super Bowl titles (and has now reached his 10th Super Bowl appearance), four Super Bowl MVPs and three League MVPs since becoming the starter for New England back in 2001. Nobody has won or played in more Super Bowls, and Brady’s longevity alone makes him one of the most unique players in the NFL.
Sports analysts, like ESPN’s Max Kellerman, believed Brady benefited from the best head coach of all time in Bill Belichick and Brady’s level of play would soon fall off a cliff. And yet we saw Brady jump to a Buccaneers team that plays in a different conference and witnessed him lead the team to a Super Bowl appearance, enhancing his claim as the greatest quarterback in history.
He has aged like a fine wine and accomplished just about everything there is to accomplish in the sport, but father time is undefeated and it’s only a matter of time before the greatest quarterback to grace the football field hangs up his cleats for good. And once Brady is gone, who will take his place as the premier passer destined for success and longevity?
One man that could be penciled in to replace, and even surpass, Brady is Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Mahomes, 25, is just getting started in his career and already has one Super Bowl title, one Super Bowl MVP and one League MVP under his belt and is back in the title game for a second straight time looking to increase those numbers.
Looking at both quarterbacks’ numbers through their first three seasons as a starter, Mahomes edges Brady out in nearly every major category except Super Bowl titles, which he would tie if the Chiefs win Super Bowl 55. He has more passing yards, yards per attempt, touchdown passes and League MVPs in less games started while throwing less interceptions than Brady.
If Mahomes and company win on Sunday, they’ll be the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since the New England Patriots did in 2003-04, a team that was led by – you guessed it – Tom Brady.
Mahomes said he relishes the opportunity to go up against Brady in a Super Bowl.
“Being able to go up against one of the greatest if not the greatest quarterback of all time in his 150th Super Bowl, it’s going to be a great experience for me,” Mahomes said in the post-game press conference following the AFC Championship. “To go out there and get the chance to repeat and to get to do it against the best, I mean it’s something special and I’m excited for the opportunity.”
This game could be an unofficial passing of the torch from the greatest ever to the greatest who could be. If there’s one player who could have a chance at reaching Brady’s incredible legacy, it will likely be Mahomes. Brady’s current head coach Bruce Arians seems to think he could. “If there’s a player who could do it, it’s Patrick,” Arians said.
