Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid became the latest noteworthy member of the NFL community to mention Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the same sentence as living legend Tom Brady while Reid celebrated Kansas City’s 25-22 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday night.
“He makes the difficult look easy,” Reid said about Mahomes during a conversation with NBC Sports’ Peter King, “at the highest possible level in the whole world. There’s only 32 in the whole world, and he’s the special of the special. I watched Tom Brady turn the keys over to him which was cool. Tom said, ‘Hey, this is your league now, man.'”
At 28 years old, Mahomes became a three-time Super Bowl champion and three-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player after he completed 34-of-46 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns, including a walk-off toss to Mecole Hardman in the final seconds of the first overtime period, versus San Francisco.
While numerous rumors suggesting that Reid could retire following Super Bowl LVIII hovered over the Chiefs throughout last week, it now appears he wants to run it back with Mahomes for at least another season.
“Patrick’s humble, he’s competitive, he’s a great teammate, good father,” Reid added about his QB1 during the chat with King. “He does it the right way. It’s great for young guys to see. It’s not just God-given. It’s what you do with what God gives you. Every day he comes in the huddle, he goes, ‘Let’s be great today.’ Every day. You know he means it.”
Mahomes may already be on the Mount Rushmore of all-time great quarterbacks, but he still has a ways to go to catch Brady in a plethora of categories. Brady, who seemingly is now retired for good, is a seven-time Super Bowl champion, and StatMuse shows the 46-year-old is the only player to ever earn Super Bowl MVP honors on five occasions.
“To me, it’s always going to be tough because Brady beat me in the Super Bowl,” Mahomes said during an NFL Network interview on Sunday night about being compared to the man who guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a win over the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, as shared by Adam London of NESN. “He will always have that on my head. But it gives me something to strive for every single day — chasing greatness. If I’m ever tired, if I don’t want to work, I know I have to do it in order to be in moments like this.”
Brady still deserves G.O.A.T. status as of February 2024, but Mahomes undeniably is closing the gap faster than many expected and ahead of what’s often considered the prime years for a player at the sport’s most important position.