Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes is playing in his third Super Bowl in four seasons and insists he isn’t feeling the least bit of pressure.
At 27 years, 148 days, Mahomes will be the youngest quarterback to start three Super Bowls. He will join Tom Brady as the only signal callers to start three in their first six NFL seasons.
But pressure? Mahomes claims the calm outside demeanor is deeply aligned with his inner self with Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles in Glendale, Ariz., on the horizon.
“I don’t feel the pressure,” Mahomes said during Super Bowl Opening Night on Monday in Phoenix. “I feel the pressure of proving my teammates right every day, being the man that I try to set the example to be, and that’s coming to work every day and giving everything I have.
“If I do that the rest of this week and in the game, I believe we will come out with a win. And if we don’t, I will know that I gave everything I had to come out with a win and that’s what I can always live with.”
Mahomes split his previous two Super Bowl appearances and said he learned more from the 31-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV than the 31-20 win over the San Francisco 49ers one season earlier.
“The win was amazing, it’s one of the best moments of your entire life and you take away all the positives from that,” Mahomes said. “But that loss stings. That motivates you for years and what it’s done for me is it motivated me to be back in this game again and I want to make sure I have that winning feeling and not that losing one because that losing feeling is one you’ll never forget.”
Mahomes is enjoying a season to remember and led the NFL with 5,250 yards and 41 passing touchdowns. The yardage marked the second 5,000-yard season of his career and came after the offseason trade of star wideout Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins.
Coach Andy Reid isn’t surprised there was no drop-off. What he has seen over and over during Mahomes’ five seasons as a starter is an ability to adjust and move the needle forward.
“He’s a great guy, a great person and he works extremely hard,” Reid said. “He wants to be the best. As a coach, you go ‘what more can you ask for?’
“And he handles himself the right way. He handles himself the right way in the locker room and with the front office and the coaches. That’s a tough thing to do and still keep that locker room close. He’s been able to do that.”
–Field Level Media