The rivalry between Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady has produced classic performances on the field and plenty of respect off of it. The two superstars have faced off in the Super Bowl and charity golf events and shared a Madden video game cover within the past few years.
The chance of having both players in another Super Bowl this season was dashed in the Wild Card round when Brady’s Buccaneers lost to the Dallas Cowboys. The loss did create extra time for Brady to watch Mahomes in action during the divisional round, gutting out a tremendous performance following a high ankle sprain.
Earlier this week, Brady invited Chiefs head coach Andy Reid to his Sirius XM show ‘Let’s Go’ to share his thoughts on the game and praise Mahomes’ toughness and leadership.
“I respect him as a leader, not just as how you throw the football, a lot of people can throw the football, but it’s overrated,” Brady said. “In my view, it’s a little bit overrated. What’s really important is, do the guys play with you in for you? And do they love you? And do they respect you? And if they do that, then I know you’re gonna be a great player because they’re, they’re watching you do everything. They’re watching you, how you sit in the cafeteria, they’re watching how you interact with the people who walk in the door with you, so when they love you and respect you, you got someone great. Now you added some of his physical traits. That’s a whole nother thing.”
Mahomes suffered the injury at the end of the first quarter and was taken out of the game by Reid for further medical examination. He was visibly upset on the sideline but returned in the second half tossing a game-clinching touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“He’s a tough guy,” said Brady. “And I told him this the other night, I said, ‘I’m just really happy for you.’ And, you know, that’s what champions are made him at the end of the day, you got to go out there, and you got to do what he did, or else you know, and make it this far and do what just let some other team know you push to the limit and you go look, this is what I’m here for.
“This is what’s inspiring about sports is not how I feel great all the time. Everyone talks about Michael Jordan when he was sick, and then you know, you watch other people come out and be injured. You know, that’s what we respect about sports, not that we’re trying to be, you know, put our lives on the line, which obviously, is very scary, but you want to inspire people to dig really deep within themselves, not just physically not just emotionally and not just mentally How do you what are you made of? and I think a lot of times, especially in today’s sports, we’re not really teaching much about that.”
Mahomes is seeking his second Super Bowl title while remaining in contention for a second league MVP award. He’s earned respect around the league, and his willingness to play through the pain to help his team win has impressed arguably the greatest quarterback of this generation.
“I really respect Patrick for how we came out there in the second half and how pissed he was when he got taken out by Coach Reid, of course, you know, he had a word for you,” said Brady. “But to come out the second half and play great. You know, that was awesome to watch.”
