Hobbled Mahomes gilds legend with latest Super Bowl magic act | Nicky Bandini

Imagine if he had two good ankles. Patrick Mahomes hopped and hobbled to the sideline at the end of the first half, unable, or at least unwilling, to put any weight on his right leg after the Eagles linebacker TJ Edwards had dragged him down by it.

This was another night when he did something nobody else could, becoming the first player to win the Super Bowl in the same season as leading the NFL in passing yards. Ask Brady how tough that combo is to pull off. None of his seven titles arrived in the four seasons when he outgunned his peers.

Mahomes said there were no pain-killing injections during the interval, only physio work and athletic tape. Whatever it was seemed to work. He had a 14-yard run on the first drive of the third quarter, as the Chiefs opened with a touchdown that trimmed the deficit to three.

He did that in Glendale, keeping his cool despite a frustrating first half. Instead of forcing something too hard and making a mistake that could lose the game, he hung around long enough to win.

That is the real secret to long-term success, the one Brady embodied better than anyone. That Mahomes sees it, at 27 years old, could be the biggest reason to think he could have seven Super Bowl wins of his own.

A lighthearted line from an athlete who had not been given enough space to take his pads off. Underpinned, though, with a warning: Mahomes has barely started.