This might be Patrick Mahomes’ fourth trip to the Super Bowl, but the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback has nothing but respect for the first-timer who will be on the other sidelines for Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday night.
Mahomes was asked about his impressions of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy during Monday’s Opening Night festivities.
“I haven’t gotten to play him yet, but he does a great job extending plays, he does a great job making the throws, and he’s a winner,” Mahomes said. “I didn’t play him when he was at Iowa State, but when he was at Iowa State playing against my (Texas Tech) Red Raiders, he was winning.
“He’s always been a winner. And that’s what it takes in this league. It’s not always the flashy plays. It’s can you go out and win? And he does both the flashy and he wins football games.”
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Brock Purdy matching Patrick Mahomes in second season
Much like Mahomes, Purdy is heading to the Super Bowl in only his second season. When Mahomes was a rookie in 2017, he sat behind then-starter Alex Smith. But since becoming the starter in 2018, Mahomes has never missed an AFC Championship Game, going to six in a row. And Sunday will be his fourth Super Bowl.
Purdy, drafted last in the 2022 draft, became the starting quarterback after injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, and Purdy led the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game, where he suffered an ulnar collateral ligament tear in only the first series of the game.
Yet he came back stronger for the 2023 season, and like Mahomes, he’s gotten the 49ers to the conference championship game each season as a starter.
And now he and Mahomes, the two-time Super Bowl champion and MVP, have one more thing in common — Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday.