David Andrews: Don’t put Patrick Mahomes at Tom Brady’s level

The Patriots center said Mahomes still has a long way to go to catch Tom Brady and the Patriots' dynasty.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, left, and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady speak at midfield after an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019, in Foxborough, Mass. AP Photo/Steven Senne

By Khari D. Thompson

January 29, 2025

2 minutes to read

Patriots center David Andrews has a take that might baffle some fans: he actually wants the Kansas City Chiefs to win the Super Bowl on Sunday.

It’s not that he likes them as a team — “I’m sick of the Chiefs,” he said on the latest episode of “The Quick Snap” podcast. One of his old friends and teammates, Joe Thuney, has a chance to win another Super Bowl with Kansas City, and he can’t help but root for that.

“The Joe Thuneys, Shaq Mason … Ted Karras. Those guys are brothers to me. I really do hope Joe can go on and get another Super Bowl for himself,” the Pats captain said.

But just because Andrews, a two-time Super Bowl winner himself, supports his pal Thuney doesn’t mean he’s ready to crown the Chiefs the new greatest dynasty in NFL history — or to call Patrick Mahomes the greatest quarterback of all time if he and his squad pull off the never-before-done three-peat.

“The Patriots from 1996 to 2018 — that’s 23 years — we were in 11 Super Bowls. … If you do the math, you know, I can do that kind of math,” Andrews said of the Patriots’ dominance of the NFL.

“They’re trying to do something that’s nothing ever done. Now granted, will that be a notch on Mahome’s belt that Brady doesn’t have? Yes. Does that make him in my mind right now better than Brady? No.”

Very few fans in New England, if any, would disagree with that assertion. After all, even if Mahomes and the Chiefs won the title this season and pulled off that trifecta, they would still only have four titles to the Patriots’ six — and Brady’s seven in total.

Some fans, however, argue Mahomes has outperformed Brady over the course of their first eight NFL seasons and therefore is already “better” than the man universally recognized as “the GOAT.” While the statistical part of the argument is somewhat undeniable as Brady’s numbers didn’t truly take off until about midway through his 23-year career, Andrews points out that longevity as a key part of why Mahomes can’t be placed over Brady so early.

“We have to look at the totality of his career when it’s all over and not just Tom’s, but the [Chiefs] organization. If they do this another 15 years and are in seven Super Bowls in those 15 years, now you got a conversation to be had.”

Of course, some would argue the Patriots were far less annoying than the Chiefs are, citing the referees’ apparent affinity for giving them beneficial calls or Mahomes’ love of baiting “roughing-the-passer” calls.

But Andrews notes that NFL fans across the country had those same complaints about the Patriots themselves and that the “hate” comes with the territory when you win.

“No matter what, people hate greatness. That’s what I believe,” said Andrews. “I truly think people hate when people succeed and do great things. And so no matter what, if you’re in that position, people are gonna hate on you.”