NFL News: Tom Brady shares firm opinion on Patrick Mahomes, officiating for Chiefs ahead of Super Bowl LIX

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will be looking to become the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl three years in a row on Sunday. That’s a feat that not even Tom Brady―who lifted the Vince Lombardi trophy more times than any other player―got to achieve.

However, the Chiefs’ success has also earned them enemies, with neutral NFL fans accusing them of being helped by the referees. The biggest complaints often revolve around controversial calls that favor Mahomes, leading to a notion that the quarterback always gets a hand from the officials.

Brady, however, completely disagrees with this idea. In a new video posted on his YouTube channel while reacting to the biggest hits he took throughout his illustrious NFL career, the 7x Super Bowl champ strongly defended Mahomes with a high opinion on the Chiefs star.

“Pat’s the best quarterback in the NFL,” Brady said. “He’s unbelievable. It doesn’t take away from his greatness at all. He’s just playing within what the rules and how they’re calling them so… .”

Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots talks with Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs after the Chief defeat the Patriots 23-16 at Gillette Stadium on December 08, 2019 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Tom Brady still believes NFL officiating needs to change

Brady clearly thinks highly of Mahomes, calling the Chiefs star the best quarterback in the NFL. But while he’s defending the QB from the critics, Tom also claimed that something needs to change in the officiating.

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Patrick Mahomes makes one thing clear to Tom Brady, Chiefs and rest of the NFL on GOAT debate before Super Bowl LIX

“Offensive players need to protect themselves. When quarterbacks become running backs and they’re out of the pocket, they should lose their protection. In essence, we’re trying to say: ‘We’re trying to protect the quarterbacks.’ But coaches are calling more quarterback runs than ever in the history of the game. So, who’s protecting the quarterback?,” Brady said in January.

“If you’re running with the ball, you should protect yourself. If you don’t want to get hit, you can go down or run out of bounds. But you can’t, in essence, have the defensive player come in at half speed and then you run over the defensive player because he’s afraid of getting a penalty. I think it’s just a disservice to the game. It’s something that I would hope that people would really address. It’s just gone to a point where it does impact the quality of the game. Overall, in my opinion, that needs to be seriously looked at.”

Patrick Mahomes denies idea that Chiefs get favored by the refs

Everyone in Kansas City is well aware of the accusations against them, but Mahomes isn’t losing any sleep about it as he doesn’t feel that the Chiefs get favorable treatment from the refs at all.

“I don’t feel that way,” Mahomes said before the 2025 AFC Championship Game against the Buffalo Bills. “At the end of the day, the referees are doing their best to call the game as fair and as proper as they possibly can. And all you can do is go out there and play the game that you love as hard as you can and live with the results. … I think that’s what we preach here in Kansas City.“