{"id":104880,"date":"2025-02-08T10:13:21","date_gmt":"2025-02-08T16:13:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=104880"},"modified":"2026-01-01T16:06:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T22:06:31","slug":"all-time-great-nfl-players-react-to-potential-history-for-patrick-mahomes-in-super-bowl-lix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/all-time-great-nfl-players-react-to-potential-history-for-patrick-mahomes-in-super-bowl-lix\/","title":{"rendered":"All-time great NFL players react to potential history for Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LIX"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brendan Lunga<\/b>
\n<\/span>Medill Reports<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

NEW ORLEANS \u2013 To all-time greats Jeff Saturday and Warren Moon, the implications of Super Bowl LIX are clear.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Patrick Mahomes has the opportunity to do something no other NFL QB has ever done \u2014 win three consecutive Super Bowls.<\/span><\/p>\n

And in their eyes, a win Sunday would cement his place among the greatest players in NFL history.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey get three in a row, you got to put this as the greatest dynasty in the sport,\u201d said Saturday, who won his lone ring in Super Bowl XLI as a center for Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d (have) to say that there’s no other quarterback who has ever had this great a start for the first seven years of his career,\u201d said Moon, a Hall of Fame quarterback who never hoisted the Lombardi Trophy during his 17-year NFL career.<\/span><\/p>\n

After winning Super Bowl LVIII last season, Mahomes became just the eighth quarterback in NFL history to win back-to-back Super Bowls. With each new feat he achieves in his career, the quarterbacks Mahomes once trailed on the all-time list move closer within his reach.<\/span><\/p>\n

And they\u2019re taking notice.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s tough to get to where they are,\u201d former 49ers and Chiefs quarterback Joe Montana said. \u201cAnd he’s obviously having a great career.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A win Sunday would tie Mahomes with Montana and Terry Bradshaw for the second-most Super Bowl wins of all time among quarterbacks with four. Montana won back-to-back in Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV. Bradshaw did it twice, in Super Bowls IX and X as well as XIII and XIV.<\/span><\/p>\n

Neither was able to complete the three-peat.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI found it hard because I was tired \u2014 emotionally and mentally,\u201d Bradshaw said. \u201cIt\u2019s so hard to win a Super Bowl. And then you win one back-to-back, and you\u2019re just like, \u2018Oh man, I got to do it again?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Bradshaw said as a player, he would go into a deep depression after the Super Bowl. It would take him a couple of weeks, if not longer, to get out of it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Slowly, he said he would overcome his emotional and physical exhaustion. He wouldn\u2019t pick up a football until June. The pressure of winning another Super Bowl would wear him down.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the parade, you go downtown and they’re not hollering, \u2018Good luck, hope you win it next year,\u2019\u201d Bradshaw said. \u201cIt\u2019s, \u2018You better win it next year.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Of the eight quarterbacks to win back-to-back Super Bowls, none has been able to even reach the big game in the following season. Mahomes became the first to do so when the Chiefs beat the Bills, 32-29, in this year\u2019s AFC championship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Appearing in Super Bowl LIX will also make Mahomes the first quarterback to play in five Super Bowls before his 30th birthday. Should he win, he\u2019ll become the first to win four of them by age 29.<\/span><\/p>\n

The start of Mahomes\u2019 career has been nothing short of historic. And for Montana, that won\u2019t change whether Mahomes secures the NFL\u2019s first three-peat or not.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think he needs any more for his legacy,\u201d Montana said. \u201cBut it\u2019d never hurt.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What was once expectations for Mahomes have now become reality. He has already earned his place among the all-time great quarterbacks, and a win Sunday would only vault him closer to the top.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But in Bradshaw\u2019s estimation, no matter what happens in Super Bowl LIX, Mahomes would continue to be behind Tom Brady as the greatest of all time. Seven rings will still be a long way to go.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBest ever?\u201d Bradshaw said. \u201cNo way am I going to say that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Even so, Mahomes is only 29 years old. As he was sure to point out during media availability Thursday, he won\u2019t even be in his 40s a decade from now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A GOAT debate between Mahomes and Brady may certainly be on the horizon. But Mahomes has his eyes focused on Sunday, when a Super Bowl \u2014 and history \u2014 await.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I look back at my career, I\u2019ll look back and think it’s all the more amazing to be mentioned with some of these names I’ve been mentioned with,\u201d Mahomes said. \u201cBut more than anything, I just want to maximize the opportunity that I have here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Brendan Lunga is a graduate student at Medill, specializing in sports media. You can follow him on Twitter\/X at <\/span><\/i>@brendan_lunga18<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Brendan Lunga Medill Reports NEW ORLEANS \u2013 To all-time greats Jeff Saturday and Warren Moon, the implications of Super Bowl LIX are clear.\u00a0 Patrick Mahomes has the opportunity to do something no other NFL QB has ever done \u2014 win three consecutive Super Bowls. And in their eyes, a win Sunday would cement his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":991,"featured_media":104881,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5485,5542,31,5486,5487],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medill-explores-2025","category-msj25","category-sports","category-super-bowl-lix","category-winter-2025"],"yoast_head":"\nAll-time great NFL players react to potential history for Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LIX - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/all-time-great-nfl-players-react-to-potential-history-for-patrick-mahomes-in-super-bowl-lix\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"All-time great NFL players react to potential history for Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LIX - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Brendan Lunga Medill Reports NEW ORLEANS \u2013 To all-time greats Jeff Saturday and Warren Moon, the implications of Super Bowl LIX are clear.\u00a0 Patrick Mahomes has the opportunity to do something no other NFL QB has ever done \u2014 win three consecutive Super Bowls. 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