11 February 2024 , 02:00
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Football legend Thierry Henry has spoken about the impact of Tom Brady on Patrick Mahomes after the seven-time Super Bowl winner beat the Kansas City Chiefs star in the NFL finale in 2021.
He said, "Kansas City Chiefs, obviously having [Patrick] Mahomes, is difficult to bet against the guy," and "He is just something else, and having lost the final against [Tom] Brady, I know that's something that must be annoying him."
Henry added, "So, the only way he can go and surpass Brady is having rings, and greatness is about having rings, as you know, and there is one that is there [Super Bowl LVIII]."
Mahomes has led the Chiefs to their second consecutive Super Bowl and fourth in five seasons. Despite a rocky regular season, they managed to reach this weekend's showpiece in Las Vegas where they will defend their title against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Chiefs had an 11-6 record before the postseason, which meant they had to play two away playoff games against the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens. These were Mahomes' first road playoff games in the NFL, but he came out victorious. This is why Henry isn't ruling out the Chiefs against the Niners, even though they are underdogs for the third game running.
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Speaking about Patrick Mahomes, an insider said: "I'm sure in his head, talking about Mahomes, is thinking about the loss to the [Tampa Bay] Buccaneers and the only way to grab the big man [Brady] is to win more and more and more, and do it well. We all know how great he is."
Even if Mahomes does claim a third Superbowl title, he'd still be comparatively younger than Brady when he retired. In preparation for his game at the Allegiant Stadium, Mahomes shared: "I'm not even close to halfway so I haven't put a lot of thought into it," and "Your goal is to be the best player you can be. So right now it's doing whatever I can to beat a great 49ers team and try to get that third ring."
He also noted the magnitude of reaching seven titles: "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 way away. You want to play as long as they'll let you. It takes a lot of work - taking care of your body, eating healthily, try to get rid of the 'dad bod' that I got, do whatever you can to be healthy."
Mahomes underlined his ambition looking forward with optimism: "Fifteen years seems like a long time but Brady did it and some other guys have done it so I'm going to see if I can do it as well.
"If I can still go out there and have success and love it every single day, and put the time and effort into it, I'll play. I'll do whatever I can to keep doing that."