A torch has been passed from the New England Patriots to the Kansas City Chiefs, who have emerged as the NFL’s newest dynasty.
For years, fans around the league despised the Patriots, and specifically quarterback Tom Brady, for their constant success.
Brady led the Patriots to six Super Bowl victories in nine appearances, acting as a roadblock to Hall-of-Fame caliber signal callers like Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Philip Rivers.
Reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes has achieved a similar degree of dominance, taking down his contemporaries (Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Deshaun Watson, Andrew Luck, Lamar Jackson, Trevor Lawrence, and Tua Tagovailoa) on his path to four Super Bowl berths through his first six years as the Kansas City’s starting quarterback.
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ESPN’s Jeff Darlington recently sat down with Mahomes and discussed how the 28-year-old quarterback feels about being disliked by other teams and fanbases.
“I can definitely sense it,” Mahomes explained. “I never felt like that because I’ve never been like that in my entire life. But it’s become a little bit funny. I don’t want to say you enjoy it. I know the Patriots had that for a while. I’m hoping we do it in a different way with a little more fun and personality with it.
“But as long as you keep winning, teams start to not like you, and I want to keep winning. So, if that means some of the other teams and other fan bases aren’t going to like me, I’ll try to still have a smile on my face and not be a bad example, but I can be that villain for them if they need me to be.”
The Chiefs quarterback seems happy to inherit this villain role in the NFL if it means Kansas City can continue to compete for Super Bowls every year.
Mahomes has led Kansas City to the AFC title game in each of his six seasons as the starting quarterback. With a victory on Sunday against the 49ers, the Chiefs would be the first team since the 2003-04 Patriots to win back-to-back Super Bowls, further establishing Kansas City as a dynasty and cementing Mahomes’ role as the NFL’s preeminent star.