Super Bowl LV Weekly Wonder

By Peyton Schultze

After winning three straight road games in the NFC playoffs, Tom Brady and the Buccaneers return to the friendly confines of Raymond James Stadium for a Super Bowl date with the Chiefs (via CBS Sports).

Super Bowl LV has finally arrived!

After weeks of determining which two teams would reach this point, the field has finally settled and awarded us the two conference champions. This game has storylines galore with so many opportunities to break some long established records, and it should be truly captivating to see which team ends up coming out on top with confetti and fireworks surrounding them on Sunday night.

All the football mayhem in the world has led up to this point, where we will finally see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers match up with the Kansas City Chiefs for a chance to become world champions. But what will happen on Sunday? Will Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes go head-to-head in a shootout for the ages? Will a defensive player like Tyrann Mathieu or Lavonte David make a game-changing play to give his team the edge in the ballgame? Or will a superstar name like Tyreek Hill or Mike Evans be the star of the show on Sunday and capture Super Bowl MVP honors? Stay tuned for our final Weekly Wonder update of the season, as we officially preview all of the ins and outs of Super Bowl LV in Tampa, Florida.

The Quarterback Matchup

Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes

Super Bowl LV could easily take the cake for the greatest quarterback matchup of all-time between Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes (via Yahoo!).

Already being billed as the greatest quarterback matchup in league history, the NFL’s 55th Super Bowl features two megastars at the game’s most significant position. The battle between Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes, in their second career postseason matchup against one another, figures to be the biggest headline leading up the Super Bowl LV, especially with each player receiving an opportunity to once again boost their legacy amongst the best that the NFL has ever seen.

It is hard to come up with something that hasn’t been said already about the greatest quarterback in the history of the sport, but Tom Brady has found a way in his first year with a new team. Spectacular and age-defying at a shocking rate with every passing year, “The GOAT” has found a way to set new standards at the quarterback position in the latter stage of his career, especially after his two decade long reign with Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. Brady’s first year in Tampa Bay has been nothing short of magnificent, as he was able to finish the season with 4,633 passing yards, to go along with 40 touchdowns and 12 interceptions to guide the organization to the second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. The Buccaneers have done an outstanding job of surrounding the veteran signal caller with exceptional weapons in the pass game, including longtime favorite and future Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski, but the dynamic duo of Brady and head coach Bruce Arians has been a game-changer for this team and has truly blossomed over the course of the season and into the postseason. Now, as he prepares to enter the tenth Super Bowl of his career, with a chance at capturing his seventh ring of his career (and first outside of New England), Brady could once again bolster his argument as one of the massive icons of American sports.

But even as good as Brady was this season, it is hard to find a better quarterback over than past three seasons than the magician under center in Kansas City. Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes seems to be breaking some kind of new record every single week since he became the full-time starter in Kansas City, and he seems to just keep getting better. This season, in leading the Chiefs to a 14-2 record and the top seed in the AFC, Mahomes threw for 4,740 passing yards and 38 touchdowns, with a mere 6 interceptions, to capture honors for second team All-Pro behind the likely MVP in Aaron Rodgers. In addition, as the superstar gunslinger prepares to make the eighth postseason start of his professional career, Mahomes has only lost a single game in the playoffs as a starter up to this point: to Brady and the Patriots in a thrilling AFC Championship Game back in the 2018 season. If Mahomes can find a way to win once again on Sunday, preventing Brady from being the second quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl with two different teams, he would already capture the second Super Bowl of his extremely short career, already solidifying his status as an all-time great with even more room to grow over the next decade.

The Supporting Cast

Buccaneers’ Thumpers vs. Chiefs’ Weapons

The Chiefs certainly have the best group of offensive weapons in the league, but the red-hot Bucs’ defense could present some real problems on Super Bowl Sunday (via DraftKings Nation and The Pewter Plank).

Both teams in this year’s Super Bowl have a remarkable cast of talent surrounding their star quarterbacks, which will be a major factor on Sunday. With both teams having clear and unique advantages of their own in several categories in this weekend’s upcoming matchup, it will be interesting to see how Tampa Bay and Kansas City truly match up with one another.

While Tom Brady may steal headlines as the Bucs’ premier player for obvious reasons, Tampa Bay has an outstanding roster of characters on both sides of the ball. Starting on offense, where the game’s best collection of wide receivers heads on the field every Sunday, the Buccaneers have few problems moving the ball down the field. The quartet of Mike Evans, Antonio Brown, Chris Godwin, and Scotty Miller is surely a matchup nightmare for any defense they match up against, while they are also aided by two solid tight ends in Cameron Brate and the legendary Rob Gronkowski. Tampa’s offense wouldn’t be complete without a very solid offensive line that has only improved over the course of the season in blocking for running backs Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette, but they certainly face a tough matchup this weekend against a Chiefs’ pass rush that can get after the quarterback in a hurry. But as good as the Buccaneers’ offense has been for stretches this season, their defense could be the unit that truly puts them over the top in the end. Tampa Bay could make a strong argument for the best defensive line in all of football with stars like Shaquil Barrett, Ndamukong Suh, Vita Vea, and Jason Pierre-Paul, all of whom could get after Mahomes early and often this weekend. In addition, although their secondary has been rather inconsistent outside of rookie safety Antoine Winfield Jr., Tampa has an elite linebacking duo with Devin White and Lavonte David. Both players are two of the best at their position on defense, and their matchups up the middle with the Chiefs’ run game and the talents of Travis Kelce on inside routes in the middle of the field could be a huge factor in this game. The Buccaneers have loads of talent on display this weekend, and it should be very interesting to see how they match up with the defending champions in their second go-around this season.

But the Chiefs’ star playmakers are a major reason why they remain such a dynamic squad with potential to score five touchdowns in a quarter or pitch a shutout against a good offense. Their supporting cast begins and ends with the supreme talents of Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce on offense, two players that could easily be considered the best at their own position in the league. With potential to destroy a team over the top and grind out drives on third downs, Hill and Kelce are two of the finest players on either side of the ball in all of football and have already given Tampa some real struggles when these two teams matched up earlier in the year. Both of these studs are joined by other solid players like Mecole Hardman, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and Le’Veon Bell on offense, who help to ease the burden off of the shoulders of Mahomes, while also joining up with a solid offensive line that enters the Super Bowl with all sorts of questions due to a plethora of injuries. On defense, a unit that has taken a significant leap forward from their Super Bowl-winning team from a season ago, the Chiefs also look dangerous and are poised to match up well with the Buccaneers. Chris Jones and Tyrann Mathieu are the standout players due to their dominance on defense, but the unit also deploys several other key role players such as Frank Clark and Bashaud Breeland. The Chiefs’ support around Mahomes is a little more top-heavy than the deep depth of the Buccaneers, but they surely have enough superstar talent on both sides to give them a fighter’s chance against any team in football.

Seasons in Review

The Roller Coaster Ride vs. The Dominant Path to a Repeat

Two strikingly different paths to the Super Bowl creates a fascinating matchup for this upcoming weekend (via USA Today and Fulton Sun).

As much of a roller coaster of a season for any team in recent memory, Year One of Tom Brady’s time in Tampa Bay was surely a memorable one. Even though the Buccaneers will now officially play in their second Super Bowl in franchise history, it has not been perfect this season. The Buccaneers finished the regular season at 11-5 and the 5th seed in the NFC playoff picture, although their new star quarterback managed to throw for 40 passing touchdowns and the team won off four straight to end the year after their late Week 13 bye week. After a relatively easy Wild Card win over the young but talented Washington Football Team, the Buccaneers advanced to the Divisional Round on the road against the rival Saints. The Saints, the NFC South champions and winners of both dominant matchups during the regular season, entered the game with plenty of momentum of their own, but the Bucs’ defense came to play against familiar foes in Drew Brees and Alvin Kamara. Tampa Bay played dominant ball in the second half of the matchup, and even though their offensive play wasn’t pretty all night long, they were able to advance to a road date inside Lambeau Field against the top-seed Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game. Brady struggled mightily at times versus the Packers in that game, but a similar theme over their playoff run developed in Tampa’s ability to perform at such a high level on defense. In limiting the effectiveness of the likely MVP winner in Aaron Rodgers and slowing down the talents of Davante Adams on the outside, Tampa rode a truly impressive defensive performance to secure a stunning road upset over the Packers and advance to their second Super Bowl in franchise history. Now, as Brady looks for his seventh ring in his own illustrious career and the Buccaneers look for their second championship in as many tries, Tampa Bay also looks to become the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl inside of their own home stadium. All eyes are on the Buccaneers this weekend to see if they can finally seal the deal on what has been a memorable season for a once-miserable franchise.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs coasted all season long. Finishing 14-2 on the season and securing the #1 seed in the AFC, Kansas City continued their reign as defending champions with such ease all season long. Other than a Week 17 loss to the Chargers in which most marquee starters were benched for rest, the Chiefs truly only lost one game during the regular season in a 40-32 home loss to the rival Las Vegas Raiders. Since then, Kansas City has felt almost no pressure, with quarterback Patrick Mahomes playing at an MVP-type level and the Chiefs’ defense taking a step forward from their Super Bowl-winning season from a year ago. However, the Chiefs did suffer a real scare inside Arrowhead Stadium in the Divisional Round against Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb, and the upstart Cleveland Browns. After Mahomes was diagnosed with an undisclosed head injury and then suddenly removed from the game in the second half, the sneaky Browns found a way to get themselves back into the ballgame deep in the 4th quarter. But even after a costly interception in the 4th, backup quarterback Chad Henne filled in for Mahomes and sealed a win with two huge moments on back-to-back plays on third and fourth down to hold onto the lead and send the Chiefs to their third straight AFC Championship. From there, with Mahomes back in the lineup and leading the way for the Kansas City offense, the Chiefs bounced back from another slow start in a playoff game and eventually cruised to a relatively easy win over emerging quarterback Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in the Conference Championship to advance to their second straight Super Bowl. The Chiefs now look to become the first back-to-back champions in the NFL since the New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004, which would also give the Chiefs their third Super Bowl win in franchise history and the second in the Mahomes-era.

Super Bowl LV Predictions

The Search for a Second Championship vs. The Hunt for Back-to-Back

Can the Kansas City Chiefs capture back-to-back championships and kick off the next NFL dynasty with a win on Sunday? (via USA Today’s FTW).

Super Bowl LV is here at last after an eventful year full of chaos, turmoil, and excitement, which sets the stage for a high-profile game featuring some of the biggest names in the sport. The Chiefs and Buccaneers figure to be in a battle all night long on Sunday, and it would not be a surprise to see these two teams come down to the wire late in the 4th quarter.

Nevertheless, both of these teams present certain matchup problems that could make this a fairly high-scoring affair. First and foremost, the Patrick Mahomes to Tyreek Hill connection has to be the Buccaneers’ main focus on defense heading into this matchup after the last time these two teams met up. However, if cornerback Carlton Davis can put a halt on his inconsistency or Hill garners so much attention to the point where it opens up the door for other weapons on offense to put up huge numbers, tight end Travis Kelce could be the most important player in this game. Kelce had a very nice performance in last year’s Super Bowl as well, and even though Darren Waller and George Kittle continue to present strong arguments as the best player at the position in the game, the Chiefs’ versatile tight end is nearly uncoverable and a future Hall of Famer at this point in his career. Expect a huge game from the former University of Cincinnati that could see one or more trips to the endzone, and look for head coach Andy Reid to get very creative in how he gets the ball into Kelce’s hands against a tough defensive assignment in linebackers Devin White and Lavonte David.

On the other side of the field, Tampa Bay has the fortune of rolling out the game’s greatest quarterback of all-time, who will make his tenth career appearance in the big game on Sunday. Tom Brady actually has not been as spectacular as usual during the Bucs’ playoff push, but his offensive production in big moments is not really something that has ever been questioned on the quarterback’s resume. The Chiefs’ secondary is a little bit vulnerable for big plays down the field (outside of throwing anywhere near the safety ball-hawk known as Tyrann Mathieu), and Brady will surely look in Mike Evans’ direction early and often after a gigantic postseason for the elite wide reciever. The Bucs will also see the return of Antonio Brown on Sunday night, who started to become an emerging playmaker down the stretch of the regular season alongside Evans and slot targets in Chris Godwin and Scotty Miller. Tight ends Cameron Brate and even the reliable security blanket in Rob Gronkowski could see some opportunities in the red zone on Sunday, but look for Tampa’s gameplan against Kansas City to be very reliant on Brady. Bucs’ head coach Bruce Arians has a vertical attack that could give the Chiefs some issues on Sunday, but conversions on third-downs and offensive consistency through all four quarters will be the keys to victory if Tampa wants to capture their second championship in franchise history on their own home turf.

Both of these teams do not necessarily boast strong running games that you could imagine going off on Sunday. Bucs’ running back Ronald Jones has had a very nice year to help out their backfield alongside Leonard Fournette, but Tampa’s offensive attack is more reliant on the right arm of Brady. Meanwhile, Kansas City’s backfield duo of rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Le’Veon Bell could have a tough time against a powerful run defense that doesn’t allow much. In the end though, there is one true difference maker that gives the edge to a particular team: Patrick Mahomes. The young Kansas City superstar is truly the best quarterback in all of football, and even though the Chiefs do have a tendency to get off to some slow starts, Mahomes seems to be at his best when faced with adversity. The Chiefs have an extremely tough challenge ahead of them with major injuries at both tackle positions, and while the Buccaneers’ ferocious pass rush featuring Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaquil Barrett could get to Mahomes early and often on Sunday, Mahomes’ consistent control of the line of scrimmage and mobility on third down gives the Chiefs an advantage over any opponent that they square off against.

Tampa Bay is a formidable opponent, and it would not be a surprise to see them win this game after a miraculous playoff run, but Kansas City may just be too much to handle on both sides of the ball. The Chiefs have a very underrated defense, and particularly a nice defensive line, that could cause some disruption for Brady in the pocket, but Mahomes’ explosive weapons just have a certain edge over any team they face right now. Look for the Buccaneers’ defense to create a turnover or two to keep this game very close, but expect Reid and the Chiefs’ offense to stir up one or two plays that make all the difference in this game and get them that much closer to becoming back-to-back champs. The -3 spread feels just about right heading into this one, and don’t be surprised if this matchup ends just how it did earlier in the regular season when these two faced off. The Chiefs will win it and become the first team to secure back-to-back championships since the Patriots back in 2003 and 2004.

Tampa Bay: 24 Kansas City: 27

Super Bowl MVP: Patrick Mahomes