National Football League

Andy Reid shares how Tom Brady 'turned the keys over' to Patrick Mahomes

Updated Feb. 12, 2024 3:43 p.m. ET

Patrick Mahomes took home his third Lombardi Trophy on Sunday night, further sparking the debate about his all-time ranking with seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady.

But as many debate Mahomes vs. Brady following Super Bowl LVIII, Andy Reid shared an interesting story about the two quarterback titans coming together. The Chiefs head coach said that Brady actually reached out to Mahomes in the moments after the New England Patriots' overtime win over Kansas City in the 2018 AFC Championship Game, speaking to the younger quarterback in a passing-the-torch moment.

"I was there when Tom Brady said, 'I'm turning the keys over to you,'" Reid told NFL Network. "He did it right in our locker room. And so I think Tom is as proud as anybody."

Reid further expanded on that story in an interview with NBC Sports as he explained that Mahomes has embraced the mantle as the face of the league.

"He makes the difficult look easy at the highest possible level in the whole world," Reid told NBC Sports. "There's only 32 in the whole world, and he's the special of the special. I watched Tom Brady turn the keys over to him, which was cool. Tom said, ‘Hey, this is your league now, man.'

"Patrick's humble, he's competitive, he's a great teammate, good father. He does it the right way. It's great for young guys to see. It's not just God-given. It's what you do with what God gives you. Every day he comes in the huddle, he goes, ‘Let's be great today.' Every day. You know he means it."

Why NFL should feel discouraged about Patrick Mahomes' SBLVIII win

Just as he did in his previous two Super Bowl wins, Mahomes came back from a 10-point deficit to help the Chiefs win. Super Bowl LVIII was possibly the most challenging one of them all. Mahomes needed to lead the Chiefs to two late scoring drives in order to either extend or win the game.

He succeeded on both tries. After San Francisco took a 22-19 lead with 1:53 remaining, Mahomes led Kansas City down to the 11-yard line in the final seconds before having to settle for a field goal to tie the game and send it to overtime. The San Francisco 49ers kicked a field goal on the opening possession of the extra period, to which Mahomes responded by leading the Chiefs on a 13-play, 75-yard drive that had three third- or fourth-down conversions en route to the QB throwing the game-winning touchdown.

On top of the theatrics of the win, Mahomes also put up eye-popping stats as he made history. He threw for 333 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while rushing for 66 yards, becoming just the second player in the history of the Super Bowl to lead his team in passing and rushing.

With the win, Mahomes reached the heights that very few quarterbacks have reached. He became just the fifth quarterback to win three Super Bowls. At 28, he's the second-youngest to reach that mark, with Brady being the only quarterback to win that many Super Bowls at a younger age.

Has Mahomes closed the gap with Brady?

As the debate rages on where Mahomes stands compared to Brady, the new three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback acknowledged that the seven-time winner might have the trump card. But that won't deter Mahomes from trying to run up the count on Super Bowl wins.

"To me, it's always going to be tough because Brady beat me in the Super Bowl. That's one thing he'll always have over my head," Mahomes told NFL Network, referring to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 31-9 win over the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. "It gives me something to strive for every single day is chasing greatness. Whenever I'm tired and whenever I don't want to work out, I [know] I have to do it to be in moments like this.

"I know it's a long way away and it's not something like, ‘I need to get seven Super Bowls right now.' But it does give me that added motivation to continue to be great every single day."