Super Bowl 2024: Patrick Mahomes vs Brock Purdy battle pits NFL’s biggest showman against ‘Mr Irrelevant’
It is the ‘Grim Reaper’ up against ‘Mr Irrelevant’ and, on nicknames alone, Super Bowl LVIII could not be more of a mismatch.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes earned his most recent moniker from head coach Andy Reid, to add to the likes of ‘Magic’ and ‘Showtime’.
In contrast, his opposite number, Brock Purdy, earned the Mr Irrelevant tag as the 262nd and final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
The 24-year-old seems to embrace it, happy not to take the plaudits as the San Francisco 49ers bid to win the Super Bowl for the first time since 1995.
Mahomes is every bit the showman — with seemingly the perfect backdrop in the showiest of US cities, Las Vegas. He is bidding to be the architect of a third Super Bowl success in five years and what would be a successful defence of a title won a year ago.
Victory would see him edge closer to arguably the sport’s greatest of all-time, Tom Brady, who won the NFL’s biggest prize a record seven times.
Of the history books and inevitable comparisons to Brady, Mahomes was politely dismissive this week. He said: I’m not even close to halfway, so I haven’t put a lot of thought into it.
For Purdy, even one Super Bowl appearance had seemed far-fetched when he snuck through the draft. He was the 49ers’ third-choice quarterback going into last season, but has since cemented his place as the clear No1.
The Super Bowl debutant is not undeterred by the occasion. Refreshingly, he says his goal on Sunday is primarily to enjoy himself.
We are in the Super Bowl — you dream of this as a kid growing up, he said. Every kid dreamed of playing in this game. At the end of the day, you have to be grateful for it and have fun with it.
There’s a fine line studying and being prepared for every little situation and being able to enjoy the game.
Purdy has the confidence of knowing he has the most star-studded roster in the game currently and they’ve got agonizingly close to the big prize in recent times.
Mahomes is indelibly linked with Travis Kelce, Mr Taylor Swift in case you’ve had your head buried in the sand, with Kelce having hit his best form post-season.
For Purdy, he has elevated his game since the arrival of running back Christian McCaffrey, who has a record 24 touchdowns this season.
For those believers in history, the 49ers’ last Super Bowl win 29 years ago had McCaffrey’s father Ed playing as wide receiver under the tutelage of coach Mike Shanahan.
Shanahan’s son Kyle is now the innovative-thinking coach of this new generation of 49ers, which has become the envy of the league.
Shanahan Jr has found himself bemused having to defend Purdy at points this season, pointing to the likes of comeback victories against the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions. Not that Mr Irrelevant minds.
