Super Bowls are known as a time when the best teams from their respective leagues go head-to-head for the Championship trophy, but this year the quarterback match-up is the main headline. Tom Brady is arguably the best quarterback in NFL history. But with Patrick Mahomes set to face Brady in this year’s Super Bowl, people are questioning if the G.O.A.T. will be dethroned. 

Brady, the quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was a part of the New England Patriots for 20 seasons, starting 18 of those seasons. Brady led the Patriots to 17 division titles, 13 AFC Championship Games, nine Super Bowl appearances and six Super Bowl wins. This is the first year Brady has not been a part of the Patriot’s organization. This is also the first year the Patriots did not make the playoffs, breaking an 11 year streak. Brady signed with the Buccaneers in March of 2020. He has led them to their first playoff appearance since 2007 and their first Super Bowl appearance since 2002, which they won. Brady was drafted back in 2000 as the 199th overall pick. 198 people were picked before him and Brady is possibly better than all 198 of them. He is the oldest quarterback in the NFL right now at age 43, but his age has not affected his ability to play as one of the top quarterbacks. 

At a young age of 25, Mahomes is only in his third season starting in the NFL. But in these three years, he has led the Kansas City Chiefs to the AFC Championships and to a Superbowl win last season. Mahomes was drafted in 2017 by the Chiefs as the 10th overall pick. In his NFL career, Mahomes has a 44-9 record and he won his first Super Bowl ring at age 24, the same age as Brady when he won his first ring. 

The game will be heavily offensive with the Mahomes and Tyreek Hill duo facing Brady and Mike Evans. The Chiefs may be missing key offensive lineman Eric Fisher after leaving the AFC Championship game early with an Achilles injury. This will put a test to the offensive line against the star defensive lineman for the Buccaneers, Ndamukong Suh and Jason Pierre-Paul.

The first two of the four meetings between Brady and Mahomes were won by Brady and the Patriots, then Mahomes bounced back to win their third meeting. Their latest meeting was this season in Tampa Bay with Brady and his new team losing to Mahomes and the Chiefs. But this Super Bowl, to break the tie, both quarterbacks are fighting to join top-tier athletes. If the Chiefs win their second Super Bowl ring, Mahomes will be in the club with Brady, Roger Staubach, Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Aikman, Jim Plunkett, John Elway, Bob Griese, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning to be the only quarterbacks to lead their teams to multiple Super Bowl wins. He will also join the short list of quarterbacks to lead their team to two Super Bowl wins in a row; Brady is on this list. Brady is looking to join Peyton Manning in being the only quarterback to lead two different teams to Super Bowl wins. 

Mahomes was only six-years-old when Brady won his first Super Bowl back in 2001. Now, 20 years later, Brady is going head-to-head against the one guy in the league that people are predicting to surpass him within a couple of years. Without question, this Super Bowl quarterback match-up will compare to nothing else. How will history play out? The G.O.A.T. gets number seven or the upcoming G.O.A.T. gets number 2?