Patrick Mahomes may only be in his seventh NFL season, but he is already an all-time great and will look to add to his legacy on Sunday when the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium.
Mahomes has already led the Chiefs to four Super Bowl appearances and two championships in his young career, which began in 2017 after the team selected with him the 10th overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Mahomes played his college ball at Texas Tech and is one of the best quarterbacks to ever come out of the state. Among other successful signal-callers from Texas is Matthew Stafford, who was raised in the Lone Star State after being born in Tampa, Florida.
Ahead of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl matchup against the 49ers, Mahomes praised Stafford and credited him for the sidearm passes and no-look throws that are part of his game, via Gary Klein of the L.A. Times:
“First off, he’s a Texas guy, so I mean, always love the Texas quarterbacks are out there having success,” Mahomes said Tuesday as he continued preparations for Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. “Everybody talks about the sidearm throws and the no-look passes — I mean that’s from watching guys like Matthew Stafford play that I’ve been able to do it.
“I kind of got some hype coming into the league, but I mean you watch the film, he’s the guy that kind of started that stuff off, him and Brett Favre. And so it really is cool to be able to kind of be along those guys now, and be able to have my own impact on the game. I mean, those are the guys that I watched, that influenced me to be the quarterback that I am.”
Stafford has largely been underrated for the majority of his NFL career, so it is cool that he got a shoutout from one of the best quarterbacks to ever play.
The 36-year-old confirmed that he plans to return to the Rams for his 16th NFL season, and the team is also committed to having him under center.
Stafford will enter the year needing just 10 touchdowns and 977 passing yards to surpass Eli Manning for 10th all-time in both categories.
Rams’ Matthew Stafford named finalist for AP Comeback Player of the Year
Stafford was named a finalist for the AP Comeback Player of the Year award, along with Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield and Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
The winner will be announced at Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas on Thursday, Feb. 8, with live coverage of NFL Honors beginning at 6 p.m. PT on CBS and NFL Network.
