In Super Bowl LV, the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL will take on the young gun who appears to have the best chance at one day displacing him.
On February 7 in Tampa Bay, 43-year-old Tom Brady will take the field for the Buccaneers against 25-year-old Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs in the fifth-ever matchup between the star quarterbacks. While with the Patriots, Brady took the first two games of the series, one in the regular season and one in the playoffs, while Mahomes has taken the last two, a regular-season win last year and a regular-season win earlier in the 2020 campaign.
To help preview the fifth matchup between Brady and Mahomes, in which the latter will look to become the first quarterback to win back-to-back titles since the former did it with New England in 2003-04, let’s take a look back at the previous four meetings between the NFL superstars.
Brady v. Mahomes, Round 1: October ’18
In a wild game that featured more than 700 passing yards, the Patriots held the Chiefs without a touchdown and had a 24-9 lead heading into the third quarter. That’s when Mahomes, who ended up with more than 350 yards passing and four TDs, began his aerial assault on the New England secondary.
In just sixth start during his first year as the lead dog in KC, Mahomes threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill with three minutes left to tie the score at 40. But, after relying on top target Rob Gronkowski for a huge 39-yard gain, Brady put the Patriots in position for the winning field goal and New England emerged with the 43-40 win.
Final line for Brady: 24-35, 340 yards, one touchdown
Final line for Mahomes: 23-36, 352 yards, four touchdowns, two interceptions
Brady v. Mahomes, Round 2: January, ’19
Playing on the road in Kansas City in the AFC Championship game, New England was once again able to stifle the potent Chiefs offense in the first half and took a 14-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. Running the ball and bleeding the clock in order to keep Mahomes off the field was key in building the two-touchdown lead.
In the second half, the high-scoring Chiefs roared back with a vengeance with seven points in the third quarter and 24 in the fourth. A late Brady interception that would have clinched the game for Kansas City was wiped out by a penalty and the game headed to overtime with the teams tied at the end of regulation. After winning the coin toss, Brady completed three passes on third-and-10 in the extra period while leading a touchdown drive that ended the game and sent the Patriots to the Super Bowl. Mahomes never touched the ball in overtime in the 37-31 defeat, his only playoff loss to date.
Final line for Brady: 30-46, 348 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions
Final line for Mahomes: 16-31, 295 yards, three touchdowns
Brady v. Mahomes, Round 3: December, ’19
In a reversal of the previous two games, the Chiefs got off to a hot start and took a 20-7 lead into the third quarter. Brady and the Patriots were able to rally in the second half and make a game of it, but New England’s lack of talent on offense ended up coming back to bite them as they were unable to put up enough points and lost 23-16 at home.
The game ended up having big ramifications for both teams, as the Chiefs were able to secure a bye in the playoff thanks to winning the tiebreaker after New England and Kansas City both finished the 2019 season at 12-4. The Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl and the Patriots lost to the Titans in the first round in Brady’s last game as a Patriot.
Final line for Brady: 19-36, 169 yards, one touchdown, one interception
Final line for Mahomes: 26-40, 283 yards, one touchdown, one interception
Brady v. Mahomes, Round 4: November, ’20
For some reason, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers opted to attempt to use single coverage on game-breaking wideout Tyreek Hill and he burned them with 13 catches for 269 yards, including touchdown grabs of 75, 44 and 20 yards. Hill also had a crucial catch on third-and-7 in the final minute that gave the Chiefs an opportunity to run out the clock in their 27-24 victory.
Brady was able to make things close with a pair of TD passes to Mike Evans in the second half, but a 17-0 deficit to start the game as well as a 17-point deficit to start the fourth quarter were too much for the Bucs to overcome. The Chiefs possessed the football for more than 13 more minutes than Tampa Bay and also outgained the losers by more than 120 yards. Just like the Super Bowl will be, this game was played in Tampa.
Final line for Brady: 27-41, 345 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions
Final line for Mahomes: 37-49, 462 yards, three touchdowns
Brady vs. Mahomes, Round 5: February, ’21
We’ll see on February 7. Early lines have Kansas City favored by 3.5 points over Tampa.
“To go on the road and win another road playoff game is just a great achievement,” Brady said after winning on Sunday. “Now a home Super Bowl for the first time in NFL history. I think (that) puts a lot of cool things in perspective. Any time you’re the first time doing something, it’s usually a pretty good thing. So now we’ve just gotta go have a great two weeks, prepare for whoever it is, and be ready to go.”
“The Super Bowl is the Super Bowl. Being able to go up against one of the greatest, if not the greatest, quarterbacks of all time, in his 150th Super Bowl, it’s going to be a great experience for me,” Mahomes said after winning on Sunday. “To have the chance to repeat and do it against the best, it’s something special, and I’m excited for the opportunity.”
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