A New Tomorrow? The 2018 AFC Championship Preview
Will be a proverbial passing of the torch, or will this an extension of the present?
When the New England Patriots visit Arrowhead Stadium to face the Kansas City Chiefs for the right to play in Super Bowl LIII, much of the focus will be on the two quarterbacks: the future Hall of Famer in Tom Brady and the sophomore phenom Patrick Mahomes. And the storyline is compelling.
Brady, at 40 years old, has barely shown signs of letting up as Father Time gains ground on him. The Patriots lost in Super Bowl LII last year, only their third loss in eight appearances with Brady under center and head coach Bill Belichick. To illustrate how rare this feat is, one would have to back to the 1950's, when head coach Paul Brown and quarterback Otto Graham went to 7 straight league championship game appearances, ten if one counts the three straight All American Football Conference titles before the NFL's acquisition of its competitor. What makes this even more striking is the Patriots' prominence has stretched for nearly twenty years. This has been an unparalleled reign in professional football, but how much longer can it last? This Patriots team has been one of its most questionable collections of talent since their first championship, but they still won their division, still earned a first round bye, and still put the boots to a Los Angeles Charger team that appeared superior. While nothing is forever, does anyone outside of the state of Missouri want to bet against them?
But if any bettors wish to go against the grain, this Chiefs team with their remarkable new passer might be the best unit to turn the trick. When last year's starting quarterback, Alex Smith, was traded to the Washington Redskins, it was the unofficial public endorsement of Mahomes' promotion. After sitting for his rookie season as Smith's understudy, Mahomes was still an unquantified product. His arm strength was unquestioned, and was expected to offer a downfield passing component that Smith not often exhibited. When Mahomes took the field this year, he took our breath away. He turned the rare statistical trick of 5000 passing yards and 50 passing touchdowns in the same season. What was more incredible was highlight reel passes. No look throws, scrambling all through the backfield to extend plays, often into scores, left handed completions (jaw dropping for a right handed thrower)... and the list goes on. It has been quite a while since the NFL has seen a talent like this, and with head coach Andy Reid sculpting this young man into a franchise player, we could be witnessing the star of Mahomes go supernova at this point in time.
Moments like this, with the veteran great dueling his younger talented counterpart at such a high level does not occur very often. Plus, with weather conditions that are forecasted to be in the 20's, the environment can be viewed as less than ideal or absolutely perfect, depending on how one likes their football. So it begs the question: who will prevail, the age and treachery of Brady for one last grasp at glory, or will youth and energy that Mahomes represents take his place as the face of the new generation of NFL pros?
