When Patrick Mahomes channeled his inner Kobe Bryant before Super Bowl 55 vs. Tom Brady's Bucs - "Job's not finished"
After Patrick Mahomes won his first Super Bowl, the comparisons started coming instantly as fans compared him to Tom Brady and if the Chiefs' star could eclipse the GOAT. The year after his first victory, the Kansas City quarterback led his team to the Super Bowl once again. He had already won MVP by that time and people could see he was a special talent.
It was a special occasion as Tom Brady was on the opposite side. It was billed as a matchup between the pretender and the king. Asked at that time how he was seeking to dethrone the GOAT, Patrick Mahomes had said that he was taking inspiration from Kobe Bryant. The basketball superstar was the ultimate competitor and it inspired the Chiefs quarterback, who said,
"Kobe (Bryant) has one of the best mentalities of all time as far as a competitor out there and winning championships, not just winning games. I take a lot from that of going out there every single day and not being satisfied with where you're at and like I said, the job's not finished."
Patrick Mahomes talked about how it was not just Kansas City's intention to reach the Super Bowl again but to win it and become the first team since Tom Brady's Patriots to go back-to-back. Continuing his remarks after winning the AFC Championship, the Chiefs superstar had said,
"When we went into the season, we weren't talking about going to the Super Bowl, we were talking about winning again and we're trying to run it back. I'm excited for the opportunity to go out there and play against a great football team and try to do that."
Patrick Mahomes would have to wait to match Tom Brady before aiming to eclipse the GOAT
Anybody with a recollection of Super Bowl 55 will remember that Tom Brady won that matchup and it was not particularly close. The Buccaneers won 31-9 as the Chiefs quarterback had a torrid day. In the process, the former Patriots star cemented his legacy as he showed that he could win a ring without Bill Belichick.
That left Patrick Mahomes with one Super Bowl ring compared to the seven the GOAT eventually retired with. Invoking Kobe Bryant's mentality was not enough. However, the experience seems to have made him a better quarterback.
After not making it to the title game the year after this loss, the Kansas City Chiefs have now won back-to-back Super Bowls and are the reigning champions. Their quarterback could not repeat as a champion when he faced Tom Brady, but he has since done that and matched what the retired legend did last with the Patriots.
However, Patrick Mahomes is aiming for something more this season. He wants to be the first team in the Super Bowl era to win three consecutive championships. No team has done that, not even dynasties like the Packers, Steelers, Cowboys, 49ers, or Tom Brady's Patriots.
Kansas City is currently 11-1 approaching Week 14 of the 2024 regular season. They lead the AFC and have already booked their playoff spot. If Patrick Mahomes wins another ring, that would put him at four. Not only will that be just three behind Brady, it will be an accomplishment that not even the GOAT could do in his career.
The Chiefs quarterback has broken a lot of records in his career. For example, in this century, nobody had won the Super Bowl MVP and the league season MVP in the same year until he did it a couple of seasons ago against the Philadelphia Eagles. The threepeat is another feather that he can add to his cap if it happens.