Patrick Mahomes: Matching Tom Brady’s level ‘seems impossible’

Tom Brady dropped his second and apparently final retirement announcement in the middle of Patrick Mahomes’ final Super Bowl run. And perhaps it’s fate that these two moments should cross, because if anyone is going to compete for Brady’s record seven Super Bowl wins, it’s Mahomes.

The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback has appeared in the AFC Championship Game in his five years as a starter and is headed to his third Super Bowl. The only problem? So far, Mahomes has just one Super Bowl win. He’s not sniffing Brady’s level, at least not yet. But if Muhammad wins Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles (Sunday, Feb. 12, 6:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App), then he might find the rhythm to compete for Brady’s record.

“I think any athlete wants to be the best at their position ever. And I want to be, but I understand how hard it’s going to be,” Mahomes told Nick Wright during an appearance Thursday on FS1’s “First Things First.” “I know Tom being in 10 Super Bowls and winning seven is something that seems impossible.

“So all I can do is take it day by day and get better and better and try to do everything I can to have great guys around me like I do now and win football games. But at the end of the day, it’s a team It takes a team, and only me [want to] to keep these guys around me as long as possible and keep the coach [Andy] Reid also training for as long as possible.”

Mahomes has all the tools to be one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. He possesses the rare combination of football acumen and arm talent. He’s not the only quarterback in the NFL who can make a no-look pass, but he makes that throw and other high-difficulty throws at a higher rate than any other QB in the league. And just as importantly, find ways to mitigate the bad outcomes of those risky decisions.

Not only is he big, fast and strong; knows how to apply these physical tools to make winning plays. And during Mahomes’ five years as a starter, he has excelled with different supporting casts, including with and without star wide receiver Tyreek Hill.

This season, Mahomes has battled injury, most notably a high ankle sprain in the divisional round that carried over into the AFC Championship Game. His performance against the Cincinnati Bengals in Kansas City’s 23-20 AFC title win, when he battled clear pain and physical limitation, indicated just how great he can be. He thrived in the midst of immense adversity.

This is what the greatest players in sports history do. Michael Jordan suffered through his game with the flu, when he scored 38 points in a crucial Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals despite feeling like he was going to pass out. Brady has played through countless knee and ankle injuries, and overcame a 28-3 deficit in a Super Bowl. And that’s, in part, what Mahomes admires about Brady: those intangible qualities.

“He’s got Jordan in him,” Mahomes told Wright about Brady. “[It’s] this will to win and this will to be the best. I think that’s what makes Tom so great. And while he may not have the best arm or mobility, he’s still very good at those two things: moving inside the pocket and arm strength. And then his will to accompany his teammates is special and his will to be great and be the best is special.

“That’s something that whenever I talk to Tom, I try to learn as much as possible. He’s more than willing to give me some advice, which is pretty cool. Because he’s the GOAT and someone I want to try to chase. But I know which is a long way from me, and I have to keep winning football matches.”

Mahomes is in the midst of a pressure situation, with a third Super Bowl appearance on the horizon. So it’s understandable that he downplays comparisons to Brady, to label the quest to match Brady as “impossible.”

But, of course, it is possible. Mahomes is a true contender to one day become the greatest quarterback of all time. There’s always a chance he’ll follow the path of Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning. They were contenders too – great QBs just out of contention to be the greatest. Muhammad can be great, he is.

But being the greatest of all time?

Mahomes has to start with his second Super Bowl win. And he seems to know it.

Prior to joining FOX Sports as an AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @McKennAnalysis.

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