Super Bowl LIX is right around the corner and Patrick Mahomes is no stranger to playing in Super Bowls at this point in his career. It'll be Super Bowl appearance number five for Mahomes and he's looking to win his fourth Super Bowl trophy and to continue this historic run for both himself and the Kansas City Chiefs.
A win in Super Bowl LIX gives the Chiefs the first-ever three-peat of the Super Bowl era and it'd be a huge resume booster for Mahomes' case of being the eventual G.O.A.T. when his career wraps up (which is hopefully a long time from now). Stephen A. Smith of First Take thinks that winning against the Eagles on Sunday will give Mahomes the edge over future Hall of Famer Tom Brady.
Smith starts his discussion by saying that Mahomes shouldn't be penalized for not playing as long as Brady did and points out the 10-year Super Bowl title drought that Brady had from 2004 to 2014. He also points out that Mahomes has never lost a division title and has played in the AFC title game every single year that he's been the starting quarterback of the Chiefs.
"When you look at what [Mahomes] has accomplished in the first seven years of his career, if this man ends up doing something, in his first seven years, that has never been achieved in the history of the National Football League, which means winning back-to-back-to-back, three-peating as Super Bowl champions... I'm sorry I don't see how you can put anybody ahead of Patrick Mahomes if Patrick Mahomes goes out there, balls out, and the Kansas City Chiefs win a third consecutive Super Bowl title."
Stephen A. Smith says Patrick Mahomes will be the G.O.A.T. with a win in Super Bowl 59
It's easy to be annoyed with Smith a lot of the time because his takes can be pretty ridiculous, but Chiefs fans will probably like this take. It's not a crazy opinion either.
While yes, some will point out that Brady's teams beat Mahomes' teams head-to-head the two teams they met up in the playoffs, with all due respect, Mahomes is on the cusp of doing something that Brady never got close to doing. It's also interesting when you put both of their careers side-by-side and look at the first seven years (only the years where they started for their teams obviously) Mahomes' career is probably going to be viewed as more impressive.
Mahomes has only missed the Super Bowl twice during those seven years and he's never missed an AFC Championship Game. Brady's Patriots failed to even make the playoffs in the 2002 season and they missed the title game twice (2002 and 2005). When you look at the debate from this angle, it is a fair point to think Mahomes can take the mantle from Brady if he manages to lead the Chiefs to the NFL's first-ever Super Bowl three-peat.
But hey, maybe we're all just biased Chiefs fans. Truthfully, most fans couldn't care less about the G.O.A.T. conversation right now. Winning Super Bowls is hard and the fact that Mahomes and the Chiefs are in the position they are right now is not something to be taken for granted, so let's just enjoy the ride while it's still running and save the G.O.A.T. talk for a decade from now.