Brady Versus Mahomes is Once in Lifetime Super Bowl Matchup

by Julian Spivey
Can you imagine getting to see Michael Jordan take on LeBron James in an NBA Finals or perhaps a matchup of Greg Maddux facing Mike Trout in a World Series?
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Rarely do you get to see all-time greats of different eras matchup in a championship game, but in Super Bowl LV this weekend between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs we have such a matchup. The G.O.A.T (or greatest of all-time) Tom Brady is quarterbacking the Buccs, in his first season with the team after an entire career of making and winning Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, and he’s still one of the best gunslingers in the league at 43-years old. The Chiefs have the best and most exciting active player in the league leading their team to its second straight Super Bowl in quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who’s already a league MVP and champion at just 25-years old.

This is an all-time matchup, possibly the greatest quarterback matchup in Super Bowl history, but that’s kind of hard to nail down as there has not been a shortage of hall of fame quarterback matchups in the history of the Super Bowl. Some lived up to expectations and others were incredibly lopsided like Joe Montana’s San Francisco 49ers lambasting John Elway’s Denver Broncos 55-10 in Super Bowl XXIV in 1990. I hope for NFL fans everywhere Super Bowl LV is much closer than that game.

I would say this year’s QB matchup is certainly the best since at least 2011 when Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers defeated Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. No offense meant to the QB matchup of Brady (with the Patriots at the time) and Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, but I think Mahomes has had a better early career than Wilson had.

Some other genuinely great QB matchups in Super Bowl history include Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) vs. Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts) in 2010, Tom Brady (Patriots) vs. Kurt Warner (St. Louis Rams) in 2002 (the game that started Brady’s hall of fame resume), John Elway (Broncos) vs. Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers) in 1998, Troy Aikman (Dallas Cowboys) vs. Jim Kelly (Buffalo Bills) in 1993, Terry Bradshaw (Pittsburgh Steelers) vs. Roger Staubach (Dallas Cowboys) in both 1976 and 1979 and you can’t forget Super Bowl I in 1967 when Bart Starr’s Green Bay Packers defeated Len Dawson’s Chiefs. Joe Montana against Dan Marino isn’t too shabby, of course, either, but that one turned out a lot like Montana versus Elway.

I have more giddy anticipation for Super Bowl LV this weekend than I think I’ve ever had in more than a quarter-century watching Super Bowls. That anticipation is almost completely due to this all-time matchup of getting to see Brady against Mahomes. The greatest against the guy who could one day be the greatest (though Brady’s 10 Super Bowls are almost likely unmatchable – he’s made more Super Bowl appearances than any team in S.B. history except for the Patriots and they only went to two games prior to Brady being on that team).

As much as I’m psyching up this matchup and game for myself it basically means it’ll have to be a barn-burner to the end for it to live up to these high expectations – but it gives me some hope in a year that’s been mostly hopeless.

Brady vs. Mahomes is a once in a lifetime championship matchup. In the words of Bart Scott, “CAN’T WAIT!” 

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