Super Bowl 55 Preview: 4 Tigers Playing for the Lombardi Trophy in Tampa
The strangest NFL season in recent memory will end with an NFL first: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers playing for the Super Bowl in their own stadium.
Tom Brady captured the first NFC Championship he's ever competed in after leaving New England last season, defeating MVP candidate Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers 31-26 at Lambeau Field.
The NFC Championship came down to a very questionable call; Packers Head Coach Matt Lafleur opted to kick a field goal trailing 31-23 just before the 2-minute warning, leaving Aaron Rodgers on the sideline and betting on his defense to get the ball back. Rodgers had the chance to run the ball on the 3rd-down play prior and opted to throw quickly to a double-covered Devante Adams on the goal line making the decision for Lafleur a bit more complex.
Ultimately, Green Bay lost their bet, and Brady ended things on the very next drive, sending the Bucs, along with former Tiger punter Bradley Pinion, to their first Super Bowl since 2002.
In the AFC, the competition didn't seem as stiff.
The defending Super Bowl Champions and Patrick Mahomes took the field in the late game of Championship Sunday, taking on Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
The Bills jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to a quick field goal and a muffed punt by Mecole Hardman. The Chiefs quickly rebounded with a revenge Hardman touchdown only 43 seconds into the second quarter and did not slow down, outscoring Buffalo 38-6 until a virtual garbage time touchdown by the Bills with 4 minutes to go, the ensuing 2-point conversion intercepted by former Tiger Bashaud Breeland.
Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Bashaud Breeland (21) celebrates with wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) after an interception against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Bills recovered an onside kick afterward, the first onside kick recovered in the NFL postseason since 2015, and got up a final field goal to make the final score a little more respectable at 38-24.
The Chiefs are playing in their second consecutive Super Bowl after defeating the San Francisco 49ers last season and can now fight to be the first NFL team to repeat as Super Bowl Champions since Brady did it with the Patriots in 2003-2004.
A matchup that many predicted early in the season, the Chiefs and the Buccaneers will show us whether Brady can further his case as the proposed greatest of all time, or if Mahomes can earn his second Super Bowl ring at 25 years old.
The Buccaneers offense should benefit heavily if receiver Antonio Brown is healthy and ready to return, as Mike Evans struggled even in a win against Green Bay. Brady will have lots of different blitzes and coverages thrown at him by Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and a defense that features former Clemson Tigers Dorian O'Daniel and Bashaud Breeland, but the X-factor for the Bucs could be in the running game.
Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette have only grown stronger as a running back duo throughout the 2020 season, and together they offer a speed and power punch that is hard to best. Fournette has only 48 carries in the postseason as compared to 97 during the regular season, and already has more than half of his total rushing yards from the first 16 games so far in this postseason. Both backs offer good intangibles as receivers, which will spread the Chiefs out all over the field with the already electric receiving core the Bucs offer.
No matter how much the Buccaneers can put up offensively, though, it can be matched by the reigning Super Bowl MVP Mahomes and the Chiefs.
We got a glimpse of this in last years AFC Divisional Round, as the Houston Texans and Deshaun Watson took a 24-0 lead at Arrowhead Stadium, only to be blitzed by Eric Bienemy and the Chiefs offense as they outscored the Texans 51-7 for the remainder of the game en route to their first Super Bowl win.
The Bucs have won seven straight games leading up to this contest, going back to Week 12 where their last loss was against their very competition in Super Bowl LV. The Chiefs beat the Buccaneers 27-24 led by Mahomes' 462 yards through the air, 269 of which went to Tyreek Hill.
Hill is going to get his yards regardless of what the Buccaneers draw up to stop him, but containment and minimizing his yards are the keys.
The Bucs have been great at getting to the quarterback all year long, and with Chiefs' offensive tackle Eric Fisher out with a torn Achilles for Super Bowl LV, Todd Boles can take heavy advantage of a banged-up offensive line and put a lot of pressure on Mahomes with Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul.
The Chiefs will have to get the ball out quickly but have the speed on the outside to do so effectively and will likely have former Tiger WR Sammy Watkins back in the lineup after missing all of this postseason so far with a calf injury. Kansas City also has reliability in the middle with TE Travis Kelce if the motion of Hardman, Hill and RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire isn't enough, which will leave Tampa Bay LB Devin White with his hands full for a majority of the contest trying to curtail Kelce's chances across the middle.
This game should come down to which of these two generational quarterbacks can be contained, and while Brady has the weapons to win, bet on Mahomes and how this Chiefs offense can score virtually at will.
A Kansas City win would only further cement Mahomes as the future of the NFL, but could also remove all doubters of Brady's G.O.A.T. status in his 10th Super Bowl appearance. There's a lot on the line for both teams, but that's nothing new for these quarterbacks.
