Patrick Mahomes currently is preparing for his second Super Bowl in as many years.
It could have been a trifecta for the Chiefs superstar had it not been for arguably the greatest quarterback of all time.
Mahomes' first -- and to date, only -- NFL playoff loss came at the hands of Tom Brady and the Patriots in the 2018 AFC Championship Game. New England took down Kansas City in overtime and went on to win Super Bowl LIII.
Brady sought out Mahomes after that memorable playoff tilt to impart some wisdom on the Chiefs signal-caller, whose first season as a starter ended on a sour note. The 25-year-old looked back on the meeting Monday, less than a week before his Chiefs battle Brady's Bucs in Super Bowl LV.
"It was important because it showed I was doing things the right way,'' Mahomes said, per ESPN. "As a young quarterback in this league, you show up early and you try to put in the time and put in the work. ... Him saying that he respected what I was doing and how I was playing on the field and the type of person I was, it kind of put a stamp on me that I needed to go in and even be better in order to get to the Super Bowl.''
Mahomes now knows what it takes to not only reach the Super Bowl, but also hoist the Lombardi Trophy. The all-world QB will look to kickstart a Kansas City dynasty Sunday at the expense of Brady, who will be vying for his first Super Bowl triumph outside of New England.
