Patrick Mahomes edged Tom Brady in a stunning 41-31 victory for the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night, with 'bad taste' inspiring the success.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers welcomed the Chiefs to the Raymond James Stadium on Sunday and fans were licking their lips as Mahomes went up against one of the all-time greats for the sixth time in his career. This time the Chiefs quarterback edged the contest after a stunning performance, but there was seemingly a lot on the line.
The record between Brady and Mahomes is now 3-3, but with the Buccaneers quarterback set to retire, it may finish that way. But two of Brady's wins have come in a Championship game and a Super Bowl, which left a 'bad taste' in Mahomes' mouth.
Mahomes produced one of the best quarterback performances of the season so far, and perhaps this game will be looked back on as a statement in weeks to come. It's not easy to show up Brady, especially when you're in Tampa Bay territory, but even with 385 passing yards, the 45-year-old was shown up.
It was the first time that Mahomes had been back at Raymond James Stadium since losing the Super Bowl in 2021, and the quarterback admitted after the game that the 'bad taste' kicked in on Sunday night. "When I came into the stadium I realised that I hadn't been here and the bad taste I had last time came into effect," Mahomes said. "But it's still not a playoff game. It's a regular-season game, which is important. That Super Bowl will always leave a bad taste for me."
Two seasons ago Mahomes was outclassed by Brady, and the Buccaneers thrashed the Chiefs 31-9 to win the Super Bowl in style. It wasn't Mahomes' night, but he's responded in the perfect way.
Mahomes threw three touchdowns on Sunday, and in doing so surpassed 20,000 passing yards in record time for any quarterback in NFL history. Mahomes is expected to one day match the legacy of Brady, and he's already one of a kind, with even the 45-year-old saying that he's a joy to watch.
"I love seeing Patrick play," Brady said after the game. "Unfortunately, we're on the wrong end of it tonight," he added.
Despite scoring 31 points, Brady was critical of his offense, and also called out his defence for not doing enough to stop the opposition. "It's a team sport," he said. "We didn't play great on offense. We didn't help (the defense) much, either.
"We didn't do great in the first half. Too many missed opportunities on third downs, turnovers. We've got to play a lot better to be one of the good teams, we haven't' played our best yet this year."
