For well over a decade, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady treated football fans to arguably the greatest quarterback rivalry in NFL history.
While Brady is still terrorizing defenses at the ripe age of 42, Manning chose to ride off into the sunset and retire after leading the Denver Broncos to a win over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50.
Anytime the two legendary signal callers matched up (it happened 17 times), it was considered can’t-miss TV. Brady dominated the regular season match-ups, going 9-3 against Manning’s Colts and Broncos teams. In the postseason, it was Manning who had the better head-to-head record, going 3-2 against Brady-led teams.
With one half of the Brady-Manning rivalry no longer playing, the NFL has lacked a true rivalry between dominant, game-changing quarterbacks.
Until now.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the reigning league MVP, and Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans are on track to become the NFL’s next great quarterback rivals.
Mahomes and Watson met this past Sunday in Kansas City with Watson’s Texans pulling off a 31-24 road upset. Both players provided plenty of fireworks, in what could ultimately prove to be a preview of multiple AFC Championship Games over the next decade or so.
Mahomes, 24, is one of the most physically gifted quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen. He’s big, athletic, and has a huge arm. To top it off, his awareness and ability to improvise and make something out of nothing are unmatched.
Watson, also 24, is a flat-out winner whose intangibles are off-the-charts. He doesn’t have Mahomes’ arm talent, but the former Clemson Tiger can still make every throw a NFL quarterback needs to make and his athletic ability is elite (he has 4.6 speed).
Both players have proven themselves at the game’s highest level and appear to be on track to revolutionize the most important position on the field — much like Manning and Brady did during their respective heydays. In fact, if they are fortunate enough to stay healthy long-term, Mahomes and Watson will likely re-write the NFL record book when it comes to single-season and career passing stats.
The Chiefs and Texans have plenty of work to do when it comes to building out rosters that can compete for Super Bowl titles on a perennial basis (Mahomes and Watson have each already suffered injuries due to poor offensive line play). But when it comes down to it, Mahomes and Watson possess the type of talent that will almost always keep their teams in championship contention.
The NFL is primed to take on a new, great quarterback rivalry, and all signs point towards Mahomes vs. Watson filling that role.
That said, this potentially historic rivalry will never truly come to fruition until one (or both) of them wins a ring.
And for that to happen, Brady will have to be unseated by either retiring or succumbing to Father Time. That’s a story for another day, though.
