Getty Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes meet for the fourth and possibly final time Sunday.
While cameras caught Tom Brady not shaking hands with the opposing starting quarterback after losses, he has shown gestures of sportsmanship not caught by a sea of cameras.
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid expressed gratitude for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback for reaching out to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes following their 2019 AFC Championship game. Brady, who played for the New England Patriots at the time when the Pats beat the Chiefs 37-31, went to the Chiefs locker room to talk with Mahomes according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.
“First of all, I’m thankful that Tom talked to Patrick when Patrick was young and gave him the words of encouragement that he did after the championship game there,” Reid said in the team’s press conference Wednesday according to Stroud. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciated that, and Patrick did, too. It was just a respect thing and I just really thought that was great.”
Mahomes, who will face Brady for a fourth and possibly final time Sunday when the Chiefs (9-1) visit the Bucs (7-4), said that moment meant a lot, per Radio.com’s Dan Mennella.
“He just talked about how he respected how I did everything the right way, and stuff like that,” Mahomes said in Wednesday’s press conference according to Mennella. It’s just cool to have a guy of that stature who’s won championships it seems like year in and year out that has respect for your game as much as you have respect for his. It was definitely a cool experience that I was able to know that I was doing things the right way early in my career.”
Brady hopes to get the Bucs’ season trending the right way again Sunday and avoid a two-game losing streak going into the bye week. The Bucs, which lost 27-24 to the Los Angeles Rams Monday, haven’t lost back-to-back games this season. Also, the Bucs have a five-game winning streak against the Chiefs going back 27 years in the all-time series on the line according to The Kansas City Star.
Arians Compares Brady, Mahomes
Bucs head coach Bruce Arians sees similarities between Brady and Mahomes.
“I think it starts with they’re both extremely smart. They process information very, very quickly and they’re very talented,” Arians said according to USA Today’s Mike Jones.
Arians evaluated Mahomes in 2017 before the NFL Draft, Jones wrote, and added that Arians said Mahomes, “probably had the best workout of any kid I went and worked out personally – he and Andrew Luck were the two by far on the board. Unbelievable ability.”
Arians will need his defense to contain Mahomes and company on Sunday. The Bucs defense didn’t fare well in its last outing, giving up 376 yards passing by quarterback Jared Goff. Unlike Goff, Mahomes makes more plays with his legs and has 687 yards and six TDs on the ground this season.
Brady’s Thanksgiving Debut
Brady made his NFL debut 20 years ago on Thanksgiving Day as a backup quarterback for the Patriots according to CBS Sports via Twitter.
Thanksgiving Day, 20 years ago: A rookie named Tom Brady makes his NFL debut.
Brady went 1-3 for six yards in the game after starter Drew Bledsoe got benched. Brady appeared in four Thanksgiving Day games overall in his career with the Patriots.
The Buccaneers, despite once playing in the same division as Thanksgiving Day regular Detroit, only appeared on Thanksgiving Day once in 2006.
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Tom Brady Thanked by NFL Coach for Kind Gesture