This year’s Super Bowl sets up a fascinating clash between two of the all-time great quarterbacks in the NFL: 43-year-old veteran, Tom Brady, and the young contender to his crown, 25-year-old Patrick Mahomes.
Mahomes took the Kansas City Chiefs all the way last year and is the favorite to do the same this time around. Live sports betting sites put the Chiefs as odds-on favorites to lift the famous Vince Lombardi trophy for the second year running, with Mahomes leading the field to be Super Bowl MVP once again.
But why is a relative newcomer expected to triumph over such an experienced and successful player? This is Brady’s 10th Super Bowl, and he has won six times in the past. While for Mahomes, it is only his third full season in the NFL and his second time in the grand finale. Just what is it about the young man from Whitehouse, Texas that has everyone so excited?
A slow start
Rewind the clock a few years and you find that there was very little excitement around the young Mahomes. He received just a handful of college scholarship offers, as many recruiters worried he would ultimately choose baseball as his number one sport. Mahomes is the son of former MLB pitcher, Pat Mahomes, and had entered his name in the 2014 MLB draft.
When he did finally commit to football, he was drafted tenth overall by the Chiefs, despite a 5,000-yard / 50-touchdown senior year. He then spent his first season on the bench, waiting his turn behind starting quarterback, Alex Smith. However, when Smith was traded to Washington, Mahomes got his big chance, and he simply never looked back.
Sensational first season
Mahomes’ first season as starting quarterback will go down in NFL history as one of the best ever. Mahomes opened his account against the Chargers with four touchdown passes and 256 yards. He was named AFC offensive player of the week. He followed this with a six-touchdown, 326-yard second game against the 49ers and a second successive player of the week award.
By the end of the regular season, Mahomes statistics show that he had thrown for an incredible 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions. He led the Chiefs to a 12-4 record and the AFC Championship game against Brady’s Patriots. Mahomes deservedly made the Pro-Bowl and First-Team All-Pro and was named NFL MVP.
Second time a charm
The Chiefs may have been unsuccessful that year, but he led them right through the following year as the Brady Bunch were eliminated by the Titans in the first round. Already established as one of the biggest talents the NFL had ever seen, Mahomes added to his growing legend by leading one of the most memorable Super Bowl comebacks of all time in 2020.
With just over six minutes left on the clock, the Chiefs trailed the San Francisco 49ers 20-10. Mahomes rallied his troops up the field and secured three unanswered touchdowns in 19 plays to make the game 31-20. Needless to say, Mahomes was named the Super Bowl MVP as the Chiefs ended a 50-year wait for the title.
An amazing future
With everything he has achieved so far, it is hard to believe that Mahomes was such a late bloomer, or that he is still 18 years younger than his Super Bowl opponent on February 7.
He has already inked a contract that ties him to the Chiefs until his late thirties, with a $503m, 10year deal which is the richest in the history of the game. However, none of that will matter to him right now. All that he will care about is beating the Greatest Of All Time in Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, and continuing his own quest to become the GOAT himself.
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