Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes previously have met four times, splitting the games. The biggest victory in their head-to-head meetings thus far obviously came two years ago when the Patriots beat the Chiefs in overtime in the AFC Championship Game.
After that 37-31 Patriots’ victory, Brady went to the Chiefs’ locker room to speak to Mahomes.
“Well, I would say it was unique,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, via Charles Goldman of USA Today. “I mean he didn’t have to do that. He is arguably the best quarterback to ever play the game, and he surely didn’t have to come over and say a word. But he did that, and I think for a young quarterback to have somebody of his stature do that, I think was a tremendous gesture, and it was heartfelt. He didn’t have to do it, and he wasn’t putting on a show. There was nobody there to really see it, so it was really just his respect for Pat and in return, Pat’s respect for him.”
Mahomes, who was 6 1/2 years old when Brady won his first Super Bowl, said Brady offered words of encouragement.
“Yeah, it kind of just reemphasized that I was doing things the right way,” Mahomes said. “That I was putting in the right work, and that I would have more opportunities to be in these games. I’ve been lucky enough to be in two more of them since and win both of those.”
Brady will play in his 10th Super Bowl and Mahomes in his second, giving the Chiefs quarterback a chance eventually to catch Brady.