The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, hoping to avoid the first two-game losing streak with Tom Brady as their quarterback. The Chiefs are considered four-point favorites over the Buccaneers, who just came off a disappointing 27-24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football. The Chiefs, for their part, escaped Las Vegas with a hard-earned 35-31 win over the Raiders, thanks to a last-minute touchdown strike by Patrick Mahomes. In their respective careers, Brady and Mahomes have faced three times.

The two quarterbacks split their two regular-season meetings but Brady had the biggest win so far as he carried the New England Patriots past the Chiefs in the AFC Championship in 2018. In that game, Brady completed 30 of 46 passes for 348 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions, but the Patriots relied on two rushing scores each by Sony Michel and Rex Burkhead to beat the Chiefs.

Mahomes says he's not on Brady's level yet

While Brady remains the best quarterback in the NFL, Mahomes is slowly solidifying his status as one of the league’s rising stars. During a press conference ahead of their clash with the Buccaneers, Mahomes asked if he sees himself as heir-apparent to Brady based on his accomplishments as a Super Bowl winner, a Super Bowl MVP, and a regular-season MVP over his first two years as a starting quarterback.

“I don’t know if I’m on his level yet. He’s someone that’s a global star,” said Mahomes, per a report by Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.

Mahomes wants to have long NFL career

Mahomes said he’s just trying to put in the work and to carry the Chiefs to victory. The Chiefs quarterback added he wants to play football into his 40s, like the 43-year-old Brady.

"The plan is to still be playing football," Mahomes said on "The Drive", per Jordan Cohn of Radio.com. After 20 seasons with the Patriots, Brady left in the offseason and signed a two-year contract worth $50 million with the Buccaneers to continue his desire to play until he’s 45 years old. Earlier, Mahomes said he's amazed at Brady's blitz reading ability that helps him get the ball out of his hand quicker.

Mahomes recalls Brady’s message

Following their AFC title clash, Mahomes said Brady talked to him before he left the stadium. “He just talked about how he respected how I did everything the right way,” Mahomes recalled. The young quarterback said it was having a guy of that stature, such as Brady, “that has respect for your game as much as you have respect for his.” Mahomes described his talk with Brady as a “cool experience.” That year, the Patriots won their sixth Super Bowl title after beating the Rams, 13-3. The Patriots are 7-4 in the NFC South while the Chiefs are first in the AFC West with a 9-1 record, owing to their five-game winning streak.