No matter how impressive his accolades may be, there will forever be two stains on the resume of Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady is responsible for both of them. Prior to defeating Mahomes at Super Bowl LV, Brady stole the AFC Championship from him at the end of the 2018-2019 season. As a result, Mahomes will have to contend with these losses during G.O.A.T. debates for the remainder of his career.
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In his most recent appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Brady discussed his former battles with the NFL’s latest darling. In reference to the AFC Championship, the former Patriot noted “We played a great… first half of football in Kansas City and they come storming back in the second half.”
After highlighting how the Chiefs had changed identities between the AFC Championship and their subsequent Super Bowl matchup, he went on to say,
“When we beat them in the Super Bowl… we played a great complementary game. We played really well on offense, defense played the best game they had played all season… but, to me, it took a great team effort and that’s the only way you’re going to beat a great Chiefs team.”
Ultimately, the end result proved that Brady was always inevitable. In the AFC Championship, he compiled 348 passing yards and a touchdown while completing 30 passes en route to an 82.6 quarterback rating (QBR). While Mahomes did his best by totaling 295 passing yards and three touchdowns, it simply wasn’t enough.
A 113 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns performance from Sony Michel ultimately gave the Patriots a 37-31 victory.
Likewise, as Brady mentioned, an all-around great performance from the Buccaneers overpowered Kansas City during their championship clash in 2021. As Brady was busy recording 201 passing yards and three touchdowns on 21 completions, Mahomes was struggling to find receivers.
Two interceptions from the Kansas City signal caller sealed their fate, handing Brady his seventh Super Bowl ring. Given his history with Mahomes, Brady is perhaps the only one best suited to give advice on how to defeat the QB chasing a three-peat.
Brady suggests how to beat the Chiefs
Hoping to avenge their Super Bowl LVII loss, the Philadelphia Eagles may be wise to take The Pharoah’s advice on how to dismantle this Chiefs team. Suggesting that more teams should reference the game plan of Steve Spagnuolo, Brady highlighted that having a better understanding of blitzes and protections could go a long way.
The future first-ballot Hall of Famer asserted that opposing quarterbacks must “…have answers to his pressures.”
“Unless a quarterback has total operational control of what he is doing, it’s going to be very hard against a Spagnuolo defense because Spags is going to put so much pressure on the protections… and on the quarterback to sort things out after the snap.”
Thankfully, Philadelphia has one of the most vaunted offensive lines in the NFL today. If there’s anyone who can take advantage of that, it’s the dual-threat quarterback Jalen Hurts.
The Eagles’ signal caller totaled 374 offensive yards and four touchdowns during the 38-35 defeat at Super Bowl LVII. Now accompanied by Saquon Barkley, the best running back in football today, Hurts and the Eagles should have a much better chance of soaring their way toward the franchise’s second Lombardi Trophy.
