Super matchup between QBs Mahomes, Brady for NFL title

re has never been a Super Bowl matchup of accomplished quarterbacks quite like one coming up next week between Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes.

This will be sixth Super Bowl matchup between former AP NFL MVPs, second between former Super Bowl MVP winning quarterbacks and first between players who had previously won both awards.

Brady has won a record six Super Bowl titles, four Super MVPs and three league MVP awards since becoming starter in New England in 2001.

Mahomes is just getting started in his career and already has one league MVP and one Super Bowl MVP to his credit and is back in title game for second time.

first Super Bowl matchup of former league MVPs came in 1976 season when Oakland’s Ken Stabler (1974 winner) beat Minnesota’s Fran Tarkenton (1975 winner).

Denver’s John Elway was part of next two MVP matchups, losing to San Francisco’s Joe Montana after 1989 season and beating Green Bay’s Brett Favre eight years later.

n it happened again in back-to-back seasons in 2015-16 with Denver’s Peyton Manning besting Carolina’s Cam Newton and Brady beating Atlanta’s Matt Ryan.

Brady was also part of only previous matchup of Super Bowl MVPs losing a rematch to Eli Manning and New York Giants following 2011 season.

This will also be second time in NFL history that past two championship quarterbacks are facing off in title game. only or time it happened came in 1943 when Washington’s Sammy Baugh faced Chicago’s Sid Luckman. Baugh had won title with Washington in 1942 and Luckman with Bears in 1941.

Brady is also fourth quarterback to start Super Bowls for two franchises, joining Peyton Manning (Indianapolis and Denver), Kurt Warner (Rams and Arizona) and Craig Morton (Dallas and Denver).

CELEBRATE AT HOME: Bucs will be first team to play Super Bowl at ir home stadium, although two ors got to play for title in ir home markets.

In 1979 season, Los Angeles Rams went to Super Bowl against Pittsburgh at Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where y lost 31-19 to Steelers.

Five years later, San Francisco 49ers won title just a few miles south of ir home at Candlestick Park with a 38-16 win over Miami Dolphins at Stanford Stadium.

With a win Feb. 7, Bucs will be first team in NFL, NBA, NHL or Major League Baseball to win it all at its home venue since Golden State Warriors did it in 2017 NBA Finals against Cleveland. Every title since n was clinched on road or in a neutral site at Super Bowl or in a coronavirus bubble.

last time NFL champion finished season by winning a title at its own stadium came in 1965 season when Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers beat Cleveland Browns 23-12 at Lambeau Field in final season before Super Bowl.

GOING WILD: Tampa Bay was first team in 10 years to make it to Super Bowl despite t winning division.

Bucs are hoping to follow path Green Bay Packers took in 2010 season when y finished second in NFC rth but went on to win Super Bowl against Pittsburgh.

Packers were sixth wild-card team to win it all, joining Oakland Raiders (1980 season), Denver (1997), Baltimore (2000), Pittsburgh (2005) and New York Giants (2007).

team has even made it to Super Bowl after playing in wild-card round since 2012 when Baltimore and San Francisco did it. Ravens won that game 34-31.

KEEP IT CLOSE: one has been able to blow out Patrick Mahomes since he took over as Chiefs starter in 2018. Mahomes has lost just nine games as a starter with most lopsided being a 40-32 defeat to Raiders this past October for his only loss in his past 26 starts.

He has also lost twice by seven points, twice by six, three times by three and once by one point. last time Mahomes lost by more than one possession in a game came in his final year in college at Texas Tech, when Red Raiders fell 66-10 to Iowa State on v. 19, 2016.