Patrick Mahomes wants to be the best of all time.
And to do that, he’s going to have to surpass the GOAT, Tom Brady, in order to get there.
And he’s off to a hell of a start.
Three Super Bowls, three Super Bowl MVPs and two regular season MVPs, Mahomes is on a trajectory that is looking to rival Brady’s.
He is looking to accomplish something that Brady, nor anyone in league history, has ever done.
And that’s repeat back-to-back-to-back.
Mahomes is also looking to do something Brady was so close to doing, but ultimately fell short. Finishing the season undefeated.
He once again has the Chiefs in prime position as the calendar turns to November.
Kansas City is the lone undefeated team left standing, with a spotless 7-0 record.
That is in large part to their defense, which has helped carry the team when Mahomes and the offense have scuffled about.
In an exclusive with talkSPORT, Kansas City beat writer Pete Sweeney, said not to worry about Mahomes and his early struggles, pointing to his competitive nature.
“I think what sticks out to me about Mahomes is even when he’s playing something like locker room basketball, or you hear about off season stories when he’s golfing, he just wants to kick the other person’s a**. Like it doesn’t even matter what sport it is.
“You certainly see that in the NFL. He’s an ultra competitor.
“I think back to 2019, when they won their first one in this era, they had also won one in 1969. And I think there’s so much going on in the world.
“You had just finally won the championship. You could tell that they wanted to do it. But of course you had those moments during the regular season when you were like, this isn’t the high of the highs. And then they ended up losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“And I think that was a key moment because it helped Mahomes and some of those players that are now a little bit older realise like, this isn’t just going to happen, right?
“And now I think they’re hungry. Like they were hungry for the back to back and they’re even hungrier in my opinion for what is the three-peat, because I just think they see so much history that can be made here.”
Sweeney also believes Mahomes has one eye on the three-peat and the other on Brady.
“And I also think, a thing that they wouldn’t talk about, this is not something that Patrick Mahomes would ever embrace, he lost to Tom Brady in the Super Bowl.
“I don’t think Mahomes wants to be the best right now. I think he wants to be the best of all time.
“And so if you’re gonna be the best of all time, having lost to Tom Brady in the Super Bowl, you need to do something that Tom Brady was never able to do.
“He did back to back. He was never able to get three in a row and he was never able to complete an undefeated season. He almost did. So those are two very motivating factors I think about 2024.”
At 7-0 and looking like the class of the AFC, both of those goals are still in sight for Mahomes and the Chiefs.
However, if Mahomes does want to surpass Brady one day, it’s going to take a lot more than just being perfect.
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