Instead of chasing Tom Brady’s GOAT crown, Patrick Mahomes is more concerned about Chiefs’ success

Patrick Mahomes is chasing Tom Brady‘s ghost.

Many radical judge the 29-year-old is connected a trajectory to go the top backmost successful NFL history.

With a triumph successful Super Bowl LIX this weekend, Mahomes has a accidental to bash thing Brady ne'er did — triumph 3 consecutive NFL Championships. But the GOAT speech is not 1 he’s presently reasoning about.

“I’m conscionable trying to beryllium the top Patrick Mahomes that I tin be,” Mahomes said Monday during Super Bowl LIX Opening Night. “I mean, that’s evidently a extremity of anyone’s, is to beryllium the top astatine their profession, but successful bid to bash that, you person to beryllium the top that you tin beryllium each azygous day.

“That’s connected the tract and the enactment ethic I enactment successful oregon disconnected the tract successful the begetter and hubby that I am, I’m gonna effort to beryllium the top successful that way, and whenever I’m done with football, if I permission everything retired determination the mode that I consciousness similar I person truthful far, arsenic acold arsenic effort and mentality, I’ll beryllium blessed with the results and I’ll fto others speech astir who the top is of immoderate assemblage that is.”

A triumph connected Sunday would springiness Mahomes his 4th Lombardi Trophy, 7 months shy of his 30th birthday. But a three-peat would enactment him successful rarefied company. No squad has won 3 championships successful a enactment during the Super Bowl era. The Packers are the lone NFL squad to triumph 3 consecutive titles aft doing it doubly (1929-31 and 1965-67).

No substance what happens against the Eagles, Mahomes is already successful the speech for the top backmost ever. He is acceptable to play successful his 5th Super Bowl, joining Brady and erstwhile Broncos backmost John Elway.

Mahomes’ idiosyncratic accomplishments are conscionable arsenic important arsenic his team’s. Along with his 3 Super Bowl MVP awards, Mahomes has 2 NFL MVP awards, a three-time All-Pro, a six-time Pro Bowler, and has thrown 245 touchdowns successful 8 seasons.

The hot-button statement close present is whether Mahomes tin yet surpass Brady. No substance however galore much Super Bowls helium wins, his and the Chiefs’ nonaccomplishment to Brady and the Buccaneers successful Super Bowl LV volition ever beryllium a achromatic people against them.

Brady besides won 7 Super Bowls, the astir of immoderate subordinate successful league history. He won six with the Patriots (2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016, and 2018) and 1 with the Buccaneers successful 2020.

However, 1 facet moving successful Mahomes’ favour is that helium inactive has a batch of shot up of him. As agelong arsenic Mahomes and manager Andy Reid stay with the Chiefs, they volition proceed to beryllium perennial Super Bowl favorites twelvemonth aft year.

However, Mahomes appears much acrophobic with squad occurrence than his accolades.

“As I’ve watched the greats, I deliberation much than anything, it is conscionable being capable to win,” Mahomes said. “I cognize that sounds easy, but being capable to triumph with the squad that’s astir you, that’s thing that’s peculiar and that the top do. I deliberation I learned that the astir from Tom Brady. He would bash immoderate it took to triumph the shot game.

“I attraction much astir the bequest of our team,” helium said. “You know, we’ve enactment successful truthful overmuch enactment and worked truthful hard that I privation to beryllium remembered for the squad that we are and the squad that we built present successful Kansas City. I ne'er truly deliberation astir my legacy.”

Many would judge that aft a 15-2 play and with a accidental to marque history, fans would privation to spot the Chiefs marque history. But arsenic the late, large Kobe Bryant erstwhile said, “Nobody hates the bully ones. They hatred the large ones.”

Most NFL fans volition apt basal against the Chiefs this weekend, arsenic they person go the biggest villains successful sports. Mahomes and Kansas City were erstwhile inspiring communicative aft they had made the AFC Championship successful 2018 for the archetypal clip since 1994.

Since then, the Chiefs person played successful 7 consecutive AFC Championships, including 3 Super Bowls from 2018 to 24. Kansas City has besides played successful 5 Super Bowls during that span.

Also, since 2018, the Chiefs person won 90 games, including 17 successful the postseason, the astir by immoderate team.

But occurrence breeds envy, and galore fans person turned connected the Chiefs. This is due to the fact that there’s a communicative that officials favour the Chiefs and springiness them the payment of the uncertainty regarding penalties, spots connected the field, etc.

Like the Patriots teams with Brady earlier them, the Chiefs person embraced the haters.

“You astir person to laughter astatine it,” Chiefs proprietor Clark Hunt said connected NFL Network. “You cognize however everyone successful the NFL wants to vie to win. And that’s existent of our guys arsenic well. The referees are doing the champion occupation that they can.

“If you look astatine the stats, determination are a batch of stats that amusement we’ve been connected the incorrect broadside of calls arsenic often arsenic we’ve been connected the close side. So there’s decidedly nary conspiracy.

“I deliberation it’s natural, and we surely saw it with the Patriots erstwhile they went connected astir a two-decade tally arsenic the champion squad successful the National Football League. It was amusive looking backmost 5 oregon six years agone erstwhile we made Super Bowl LIV, we felt similar we had a batch of state down america and that possibly shifted.”