There haven’t been many storylines going into Super Bowl LV that don’t include Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes. The two star quarterbacks will be the big matchup that everyone wants to see but the truth is, neither of them can really affect what the other player does on the field.
“I'm not trying to deflate it in any way but we do need to give a little bit more respect to the fact that, I've said this twice this week and I keep getting strange looks when I do it, this isn't Tom Brady against Patrick Mahomes,” said Ryan Tracy on the Locked On Chiefs Podcast. “It's Tyrann Mathieu against Tom Brady, that's the matchup that matters and it is all about the ability to disguise what they're doing. Not only is the defensive scheme built around him, but he's the guy that has to be the X-Factor. I think he does. I think he takes the ball away at least once and I think he seals something for this team with his play.”
Mathieu is a big-time playmaker for the Chiefs defense and he is Brady’s real competition on Sunday. Brady and Mahomes may be compared and contrasted with every snap but when Brady drops back it’ll be Mathieu, not Mahomes, staring him down on the field.
“Steve Spagnolo has Tom Brady's number to a certain extent,” said Chris Clark. “I mean, they went up against each other twice in the Super Bowl and Spagnolo was able to take care of it. I do think that that's going to play a huge factor in this and Tyrann Mathieu and Spagnolo together is going to help as well.”
The Chiefs defense has a tough task ahead of them, stop the winningest quarterback in NFL history from adding to his resume but Mathieu should be prepped for his matchup.
