The Kansas City Chiefs’ magical 2018 season ended in disappointing fashion as the latest team to lose in the AFC Championship Game to the dynastic New England Patriots.
Amid the profound disappointment, however, Patrick Mahomes received a postgame visit in the locker room from none other than Tom Brady. During an appearance Monday on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” Mahomes shared the words of encouragement Brady shared with him.
“During all the excitement, they won the game and we were just walking off the field after that heartbreaking loss at home,” Mahomes said of the conversation. “I didn’t talk to him after the game, and so when I was in the locker room about to walk out, actually, he came in. He got the security to let him in and he said, ‘Man, you had a heck of a season.’
“He knows what it’s like to win a lot of big games. He knows what it’s like to lose some big games—not many, but a few. And so he just said, ‘You have to keep grinding.’ He loved the way that I played. It was awesome for him to do that and show that class at such an exciting moment.”
As Mahomes notes, Brady exhibited a lot of class with the pep talk, and Brady revealed after the game that he had indeed sought out Mahomes.
“I just went and saw him,” Brady relayed to NBC Sports’ Peter King. “I mean, he’s feeling like you think he’d feel when you lose a game like this. It hurts. He’s a hell of a … I mean, what a great young player. So impressed with his poise, his leadership. He is spectacular.”
The Chiefs certainly gave the Patriots all the eventual Super Bowl champions could handle in the AFC Championship Game, coming up just short in a 37-31 loss.
To say Mahomes’ future is bright would be an understatement, so there’s a chance he could meet up with Brady in the postseason again, possibly as soon as next season, as the Patriots quarterback seemingly is somehow getting better with age.
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