KANSAS CITY, Mo. Patrick Mahomes was in the locker room dealing with the Kansas City Chiefs’ abrupt end to the season following their overtime loss for the 2018 AFC Championship Game to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots when a visitor came in.
It was Brady who, before leaving to begin preparations for the Super Bowl, wanted to give some encouragement to his younger opponent, and then into his first season as an NFL starting quarterback.
Mahomes said Monday that Brady’s visit and encouragement meant a lot to him.
“It was important because it showed that I was doing things the right way,” Mahomes said as he and the Chiefs continued to prepare for Sunday’s Super Bowl LV against Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As a young quarterback in this league you show up early and you try to put in the time and work. … He said he respected what I was doing and how I played on the field and the type of person I was, it kind of left a mark on me that I had to go in and be even better to to be able to go to the Super Bowl. ”
The Chiefs would make it to the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years the following season. There they defeated the San Francisco 49ers.
Mahomes will attempt on Sunday to do something that Brady did earlier in his career, which was to win back-to-back championships. He will have to go through Brady, who has a quarterback record of six Super Bowl titles, all with the Patriots.
“He is the way I am,” said Mahomes. “He leaves everything he has on the field every time he’s there. He doesn’t care what it takes. He doesn’t care if he has to throw 400 meters or throw 100 meters. He wants to win. I feel like I have the same mindset. I just want to win no matter what or how it happens. “
Mahomes, 25, grew up watching 43-year-old Brady win those championships with the Patriots. Mahomes said there is much to admire about Brady’s game besides his success.
“There’s a ton,” Mahomes said when asked what talents Brady has that he would like to put into his own game. “The way he can dissect the defense before the break starts is something I really admire. I’m trying to get to that level. The way he can move in the pocket and is able to reset his feet and be completely calm. to be right on the money, no matter who’s around him, is something I can keep working on. As I continue in my career, I’m just going to try to do what I can to get the band on. watch him because he’s doing the right way. You can tell by the number of Super Bowl championships he has and the rings on his fingers. “
Mahomes would narrow the gap between himself and Brady in terms of Super Bowl titles to four with a victory for the Chiefs on Sunday. He should be given the opportunity to win more. He said he would like to play as long as Brady, who started his NFL career with the Patriots in 2000.
“I want to play as long as they let me,” he said. “To do that, I have to take care of my body as much as I do everything else on the field. If you want to practice this sport for a long time, however physical it may be, you have to invest just as much time in your body. as in everything else. I have learned more and more so far in my young career about what I can do to keep myself available and healthy and try to be in the best nutritional state I can be in. I feel like I am better can become. “