Superbowl Preview
Brady Vs Mahomes — Chiefs Vs Buccaneers
For the first time in NFL History, a team in the Superbowl will be playing in their home stadium. The Buccaneers will feel right at home when they play the Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes will face off in the big game on February 7th, 2021. The last time these two faced off in the postseason saw Tom Brady and the Patriots take home the shootout victory at Arrowhead in the AFC Championship game back in 2019.
This time around, Brady leads his new team into battle after a tumultuous 2020–21 NFL season. Many doubted the 43 year old quarterback after a few bad losses in the outset of the season. However, he rose to the occasion in the ladder stages of the year and into the playoffs. Tom Brady proved that he can lead a team to the Superbowl without Bill Belichick and his offensive scheme. Meanwhile, Belichick and the Patriots floundered without Brady, but that is beside the point.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs enter the Superbowl looking to defend their title from last season. The Chiefs got a bit of a scare from the Browns in the Divisional round, but looked much better against the Bills in the AFC Championship game. Patrick Mahomes came off of his concussion and toe injury looking like nothing had ever happened. He diced up a good Buffalo defense in route to a 38–24 victory leading the Chiefs to a 2nd straight Superbowl appearance.
This Superbowl will be a tale of two generational talented quarterbacks. Albeit two totally different generations. Tom Brady will play his 10th Superbowl at the age of 43 while Mahomes plays in his 2nd Superbowl at the age of 25. This game will have numerous storylines leading up to it, but the age gap between the two signal callers will be a mainstay.
While both the Buccaneers and Chiefs boast high powered offenses, it may be the defenses that are the deciding factor in the Superbowl. The Chiefs defense held down MVP candidate Josh Allen in the AFC Championship game while the Buccaneers did a great job against MVP front-runner Aaron Rodgers and a potent Packers offense.
Overall, this should be a highly competitive matchup. I think these two teams match up very evenly on both sides of the ball. The Buccaneers have Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Rob Gronkwoski and of course Tom Brady. The Chiefs will lean on Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Tyrann Mathieu and Patrick Mahomes.
I expect the Buccaneers to hop out to an early lead. As many teams have when facing the Chiefs in the postseason. However, you can never count Mahomes and company out of a game. No matter the deficit. It will be very important for the Buccaneers to get off to a fast start, but equally important for them to finish strong. They did not do that against Green Bay and it almost cost them the game.
The Chiefs will have to deal with playing a ‘Road’ game against the Buccaneers in Tampa. While due to obvious current circumstances, there will be a limited capacity, but playing in your home Stadium for the Superbowl is a great advantage nonetheless.
My prediction is that the Chiefs will overcome an early deficit and take home a 2nd straight Superbowl victory. I think Mahomes, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce will prove too much for a good Buccaneers defense.
Final Score Prediction: Buccaneers 28 | Chiefs 34
