In a classy move after the Patriots win over the Chiefs, Tom Brady said he wanted to go and speak to Patrick Mahomes after such a heartbreaking loss.
It wasn’t the torch-passing moment that Kansas City Chiefs fans were hoping to see. The faithful gathered at Arrowhead Stadium on a chilling night of football were hoping the on-field performance would be enough for a win—a Super Bowl appearance that would verify the passing of the aforementioned torch from the AFC’s greatest to its next great superstar.
The New England Patriots left Arrowhead as the victors, so there are no columns being written this morning about Mahomes as the new torchbearer. Yes, he will have his chance, but he’ll have to wait for now. Tom Brady is not finished.
However, Brady, the quarterback for the Patriots, made sure to pass along something in a private moment in Arrowhead’s inner workings. Shortly after the game, it was clear that Brady had requested some time alone with Mahomes, the Chiefs’ phenom.
Tom Brady just quietly approached a security guard waiting outside the Chiefs’ locker room — and asked if he could see Patrick Mahomes. Brady was escorted into a room where he spoke briefly with him. A very clear display of respect from one incredible quarterback to another.
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) January 21, 2019
Brady elucidated on his time with Mahomes in an interview with Peter King, a veteran NFL reporter now writing for Pro Football Talk and NBC Sports.
"“I just went and saw him,” Brady said. “I mean, he’s feeling like you think he’d feel when you lose a game like this. It hurts. He’s a hell of a … I mean, what a great young player. So impressed with his poise, his leadership. He is spectacular.”"
There’s no recording of that moment, but according to Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports, Brady said, “I just wanted to say hello,” Brady said. “I didn’t get to see him on the field.”
Here’s the bottom line: someone had to lose that game. If the Chiefs had walked away with the win, the columns today would all be written about the Patriots engine slowing down with questions of whether or not Brady is finished and/or would ever suit up for the big one again. Instead, it’s all about how the Chiefs weren’t quite ready to tackle the NFL’s very best and that his time is coming.
At some point, the torch will be passed and maybe the regular season already gave us the succession we’re all waiting for. After all, Mahomes will be named NFL’s Most Valuable Player in a matter of days. At the age of 23, no other team has the sort of brilliant young talent at the game’s most important position. The road to AFC Supremacy likely still goes through Arrowhead next season and for the foreseeable future.
For now, however, it was nice to read about a moment between the players who best represent the present and the future. It was a classy-as-hell gesture by Brady to think of Mahomes in the midst of the post-game celebration. Several years from now, Mahomes himself will hopefully do the same after a storied career and find the young kid setting the league on fire. And, as Chiefs fans, we hope it comes after Mahomes beats him to go to the Super Bowl once again.