Don’t let the final score fool you. This game was never in doubt for Kansas City.
The Chiefs controlled this entire contest and basically sleep-walked to the finish line. Patrick Mahomes was brilliant once again and made Tom Brady look like he was a Dunkin’ Donuts manager in comparison. Mahomes threw for 462 yards and three touchdowns on the day and rarely looked uncomfortable against a really good Tampa Bay defense. Mahomes, along with Tyreek Hill, who had 13 catches for 269 yards and all three of Mahomes touchdowns, made the talented Buccaneers defense look like they were playing in Air Force 1s all game. The Chiefs’ offense made that defense look worse than a smushed Oatmeal Creme pie.
Brady on the other hand struggled to find a consistent rhythm all day. He had a few good plays throughout the game where he was able to hit receivers down the field in stride, but those plays were soon followed by crucial passes that had as much accuracy as a Donald Trump press conference. Brady wasn’t horrible against Kansas City, despite having two interceptions that were pretty much his fault, no matter how much CBS broadcaster Tony Romo tried to cover for him. Ultimately, Brady would finish the game with three touchdowns and 345 yards in addition to the interceptions, but it wasn’t enough to complete the comeback against the juggernaut that is Kansas City.
We didn’t learn much from Sunday’s game that we didn’t already know about both of these teams, but what became increasingly more obvious is that Mahomes is way better than Brady probably ever was as a quarterback. Many love to compare the two as they project Mahomes to be the greatest quarterback to ever put on a helmet. Even Sunday’s matchup was hyped up to be a symbolic “passing of the torch.”
Newsflash: Mahomes has made his own torch and its flame is way hotter than Brady’s ever was. Mahomes is by far and away the better quarterback in every noticeable facet of the game, intelligence, leadership, arm strength, and accuracy. Show me a time other than 2007 where Brady was able to produce the same way Mahomes has in the vertical passing game. These players are not the same, and the eye test clearly proves it.
If Mahomes stays healthy, he’ll stockpile stats and career accomplishments that’ll make people want to compare his career to Brady’s. But they shouldn’t. Comparing Mahomes to Brady in any phase of their careers has now become disrespectful to Mahomes.
Mahomes is a different level of quarterback, arguably the best to ever play the game right now. And 15 years from now he could be the greatest ever by a significant margin.
These two people are not the same. Let’s stop the empty comparisons. They’re not doing either player any justice.