Dolloff: Patrick Mahomes’ legacy, and the Brady debate, takes a big hit in Super Bowl LIX
The Tom Brady-Patrick Mahomes debate isn’t “over,” but the truth is it should never have started in the first place.
Mahomes had a long way to go before the debate deserved to even spill out of people’s mouths or onto their keyboards, but it had started anyway. Mahomes and the Chiefs’ ugly loss to the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX served as a much-needed reset. It’s been rewound to the beginning.
Now, can we wait a ring or two before pressing the “Play” button on that again?
Mahomes finished 21-of-32 for 257 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions in a 40-22 defeat, but those numbers are plastic and will likely be used in error as part of future arguments. The interceptions came early and did serious damage to the Chiefs’ chances of winning, and the touchdowns all came after the Eagles had already built an insurmountable lead.
Obviously, the offensive line in front of Mahomes got destroyed all night, -six sacks, 11 hits – and it’s hard for any quarterback to produce anything, let alone excel, under those circumstances. But Mahomes has had a legion of fans and worshipers who treated him like a miracle worker who has been winning all these games by himself. Well, Mahomes is supposed to overcome that bad blocking, right? With his arm and his legs and his 35-year-old tight end?
This is your GOAT?
Brady wasn’t afforded the same excuses when his offensive line collapsed in the Super Bowl, particularly in losses to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII and XLVI. Instead, the media declared the Patriots dynasty dead for the 648th time and took a pickaxe to Brady’s legacy.
That last part is only fair, when it comes to quarterbacks, particularly the very best to play the game. They get the credit when they win, and the blame when they lose. So, that’s how Mahomes ought to be treated after this game, as irrational as it may seem.
And for Mahomes and the Chiefs’ long-term legacy, well, the two Super Bowl losses are, and should always be, inerasable blemishes. The Brady camp will always point to the fact that he and the Patriots never got their asses handed to them that badly in a Super Bowl. Mahomes gets so much praise for the thrilling highs, so it’s reasonable to point out how lows the lows have gotten.
And Mahomes and “Chiefs Kingdom” can’t take these games for granted, either. Brady and the Pats got stuck at three championships for a decade. There were years (2009, 2013) that it felt like the dynasty was truly winding down. Then Brady had an unexpected third act of his career that cemented him as the greatest quarterback of all time.
For any fans or media to anoint Mahomes over Brady at this stage of his career – and especially to give him this game against the Eagles before the teams even took the field – was a huge mistake. Heinously wrong. And Sunday night proved to be a reality check.
Mahomes, who by the way was 0-2 against Brady head-to-head in the playoffs, including in a Super Bowl, needs to get to four rings just to catch Joe Montana. Sorry, he can’t reach that GOAT status just by being talented. You reach Mahomes’ level in the NFL, your legacy is judged by wins and Lombardi Trophies, not by no-look passes or throws made while flying horizontally through the air.
Eventually, 66-year-old Andy Reid will retire. Kelce is cooked. The Chiefs have work to do to improve their offensive line and identify a new go-to weapon and add more talent on defense. Mahomes will have to navigate all that through his 30s.
He has the talent to do it, and so we shouldn’t close the door on eventually reaching Brady just off one loss, as bad as it was. But he’s got a long way to go to catch Brady. That’s reality, and I’m happy to welcome Mahomes fans to that reality. He needs to get to six or seven championships. Then, and only then, will the Brady debate begin.
If and when Mahomes gets to four rings, the Brady “chase” can kick off. But it’s not a debate yet. It never should have become a debate in the first place.
And we’re still a long way from even the beginning. We’re still in the prologue. Let me know when we get to chapter one.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
NEXT… Mazz: Patriots takeaways after Eagles dismantle Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX
