Mahomes, on legacy, says Brady mark still far off

Adam Teicher, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 5, 2024, 11:11 PM ET
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- Covered Chiefs for 20 seasons for Kansas City Star
- Joined ESPN in 2013

LAS VEGAS — With Kansas City bidding to become the first NFL team to win back-to-back championships in 20 years, Patrick Mahomes said the Chiefs would “put our stamp on NFL history” if they could beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday.

“I don’t think I could have ever foreseen what was going to happen at the start of my career,” Mahomes said at Super Bowl opening night on Monday, acknowledging the fact that the Chiefs are playing in their fourth Super Bowl in his six seasons as a starter.

“You want to get to the Super Bowl. That’s your ultimate goal, and to be able to be in my fourth one, it truly is surreal and I just try to appreciate it every single time,” Mahomes said. “You don’t even know if this will be your last, and I’ve been blessed to be in a lot with a great organization with a lot of great players around me, so I just try to maximize those opportunities.”

The New England Patriots are the last team to win the Super Bowl in back-to-back years (2003-04). A win Sunday would give Mahomes and the Chiefs a third Super Bowl championship in the past five seasons.

Tom Brady owns the quarterback record for Super Bowl victories with seven.

“I’m not even close to halfway, so I haven’t put a lot of thought into it,” Mahomes said of whether he can eventually catch or pass Brady. “Your goal is to be the best player that you can be, and I know I’m blessed to be around a lot of great players. So right now it’s do whatever I can to beat a great 49ers team and try to get that third ring. Then if you ask me that question in 15 years, I’ll see if I can get close to seven, but seven seems like a long ways away still.

“My career goals have always been the same and it’s to not have any regrets. No matter what I do, I’m going to give everything I have to the game. I’m going to work my tail off, working out, in the film room, whatever that is, and give everything I have to the game. Whatever that ends up with, how many Super Bowl rings that is, however many wins that is, whatever that is, I know that I gave everything I have and that’s what I can do.”

With Mahomes at quarterback, the Chiefs beat the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV and the Philadelphia Eagles last year in Super Bowl LVII. But they lost Super Bowl LV to Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Mahomes said avoiding another Super Bowl defeat is as much motivation for him as winning a third.

“I’ve lost the Super Bowl and I know how bad that hurts, and you want to make sure you stay away from that feeling,” he said. “When you lose it and you’re in that locker room and you feel like you’re that close and you didn’t get it … I’m almost more addicted to staying away from that feeling than I am hoisting the trophy.”

Mahomes was also asked Monday night to address his father Patrick Mahomes Sr.’s arrest in Texas over the weekend on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

“It’s a family matter, so I’ll just keep it to the family and that’s all I really have to say at this point,” Mahomes said.