The Chiefs’ Week 4 Win Over the Buccaneers Was Long Overdue
During a brief exchange between Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady — two future Hall of Fame talents — those were Brady's parting words for Mahomes on Sunday night. Mahomes's Chiefs had just clinched an impressive overall team win, and Brady had just fought hard but didn't have the support to come away with a victory.
If that last sentence sounds familiar, switch the names and think back to Super Bowl LV.
Heading into that matchup, the Buccaneers were clearly the class of the NFL. In addition to having a high-powered offense led by Brady, Tampa Bay's elite defense featured playmakers and difference-makers at every level of the field. They came into the NFL's crowning game with good health, good coaching, arguably the best roster in the league and home-field advantage to top it all off. That, combined with Kansas City's offensive line and quarterback being decimated by injury, led to a blowout Buccaneers win in the sport's biggest event of the year.
The Chiefs made it perfectly clear that they wanted to make things different during their next trip to Raymond James Stadium, and that's exactly what they did.
On Sunday Night Football, it was the Chiefs that totaled 189 rushing yards to the Buccaneers' three. It was the Chiefs that went 12-of-17 on third down and punted just one time all night. It was the Chiefs that ran a whopping 77 offensive plays, controlled the clock and won the turnover battle. Contrary to the last meeting between Mahomes and Brady, it was Mahomes and company that came out firing and never looked back.
The box score will indicate that Brady outplayed Mahomes. There's no denying that a line of 385 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions is impressive, but Brady did most of his damage on a few drives and was forced to play catch-up all night. Mahomes's 249 yards, three touchdowns and ugly interception pale in comparison to Brady's stats, but the Chiefs' superstar quarterback was in full control of the game and made numerous highlight reel-worthy plays in the outing. The difference in Sunday's game wasn't quarterback play — it was one team's supporting cast stepping up while the other club's surrounding talent struggled.
This is a change for Brady who, despite his title as the Greatest Of All Time, has routinely benefitted from a sound running game, a quality stable of receiving weapons and a top defense. He still has Leonard Fournette in the backfield, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin out wide and a defense that came into Sunday's game ranked No. 1, but everyone aside from him and Evans seemingly didn't show up to play. Tampa Bay got outclassed and lost for the second week in a row, which could simply be an indication of where the Buccaneers are as a team at this very juncture.
What about the Chiefs? For starters, Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy's offense responding the way it did on Sunday was a welcomed sight. Steve Spagnuolo's defense, while imperfect, continued its wave of solid play early in the year. Dave Toub's special teams unit was much better in Week 4 than it was in Week 3. No matter how you slice it, the entire Chiefs team came ready to play and executed a well-rounded game.
With Mahomes evening up his all-time record against Brady, the Chiefs boasting a 3-1 record through four tough games and sweet revenge being served as the dessert of the night, the win says a lot about the potential of this Kansas City team. While the end result of the 2022 campaign won't be known for months, the Chiefs' upside is that of a championship-caliber club. For them, it's now a matter of bringing that intensity and preparation into each and every matchup moving forward as if they're seeking a victory that was as overdue as this one.
Zack Eisen of Arrowhead Report joined me on Monday's Roughing the Kicker podcast to discuss all things related to the Chiefs' Week 4 win over the Buccaneers. For all of our analysis and commentary, you can listen to the full episode below.
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