Pure Domination From Tampa Bay
How did Brady and the Buccaneers shut down Kansas City?
While some people (myself included), might’ve expected a blowout in the Super Bowl, I don’t think many thought it would happen this way. I imagine most individuals like myself predicted the Chiefs would repeat as champions. I even thought Kansas City could win by upwards of ten points. Boy was I wrong.
Instead of the Chiefs hoisting the Lombardi trophy for the second year in a row, it was the Buccaneers who were victorious. Tampa Bay didn’t only win, they embarrassed Kansas City 31–9.
The real question is how?
In the week 12 matchup, Kansas City jumped out to a 17–0 lead, as well as holding a 27–10 lead entering the fourth quarter. This time around was completely different. It was Tampa who held a 21–6 lead at halftime. It was Tampa who was getting whatever they wanted.
On offense it started shaky for the Buccaneers. They started the game with two punts before finding their rhythm. Tom Brady and company started clicking 14 minutes into the game. Two touchdowns to Rob Gronkowski (one in the first quarter, one in the second), and one to Antonio Brown with six seconds left in the half put Tampa Bay right where they wanted to be.
This game however, isn’t about the offense. While Brady, who cemented himself as the G.O.A.T. with his seventh Super Bowl win, played well (201 yards and three touchdowns), the real star of the game was Tampa’s defense.
The Buccaneers, for one of the very few times since Patrick Mahomes became the quarterback, made Kansas City appear below average. The Chiefs were held to just nine points, and didn’t score a single touchdown. Mahomes finished the game with 270 yards, and two interceptions. Tyreek Hill who had 269 yards and three touchdowns in the first meeting, finished with 73 yards, most of which came when the game was out of hand. So what changed this time around for the Bucs?
The biggest reason for the Chiefs’ struggles was the offensive line. I, like many others, discounted just how big of a loss Eric Fisher would be in this game. KC without their two starting tackles simply couldn’t slow down Tampa Bay’s pass rush. Just looking at the stat sheet doesn’t tell the full story either. The Buccaneers only registered three sacks, which itself isn’t an astronomical number. If you look deeper however, you’ll see what Mahomes was dealing with the whole game.
The Kansas City quarterback was pressured on 29 of his dropbacks, which is a Super Bowl Record. Take into comparison Tom Brady, who was pressured on just four of his dropbacks during the game. It was clear Mahomes was running for his life the majority of the time. The pressure from the Bucs led to Mahomes running for 497 yards before throwing the ball or being sacked, which was the highest total for any QB during the 2020 season. That’s hardly ever going to lead to a win with a fully healthy quarterback. Add in the fact that Mahomes was set to undergo toe surgery after the game, and you have a recipe for disaster.
The offensive line wasn’t the only part of Kansas City that let Mahomes down. The coaching for the Chiefs left many with questions as well. According to Next Gen Stats, KC used a five-man protection on 92.3% of their dropbacks, which was the third-highest rate in a game since 2016. Why the Chiefs thought it was a good idea to not give their backup tackles any help blocking is a question only their coaches can answer.
The lack of support for Mahomes doesn’t stop their either. There were many instances in which Mahomes was able to create some magic, just to lead to his receiver dropping the pass. Tyreek Hill dropped a pass in the end zone. Travis Kelce dropped a pass which would’ve converted a key third down. But perhaps the biggest drop of them all came early in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs were down 31–9 and needed a score to have any hope. On fourth and nine Mahomes found himself scrambling again, leading to him somehow throwing a pinpoint accurate pass while being practically horizontal to the ground. The pass which hit Darrel Williams right in the facemask however, was dropped in the end zone, thus eliminating any hope for a comeback.
The final obstacle which stood in Kansas City’s way were the penalties. I’m not going to spend much time on this because the referees weren’t the reason the Chiefs lost. However, the disparity in eleven penalties being called against KC, compared to four called against Tampa opens some eyes. Not to mention the flurry of penalties against the Chiefs in the second quarter featured some very questionable calls, including one which took away a Tyrann Mathieu interception while the game was 7–3. Now it’s hard to say that even if the interception stood, Kansas City would’ve scored. But to completely ignore the penalties would be foolish.
In the end though, Tampa’s defense was by far the biggest story of Super Bowl LV. They were clearly the better team on Sunday, and deserved the win. Kansas City will be back, but for now congratulations to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.
