Joe Henderson
Let’s see, we’ve covered just about every aspect of the Super Bowl over the last two weeks. We wrote about security for Sunday’s game at Raymond James Stadium, along with the impact on Tampa.
This is the fifth time Tampa has hosted the game, and we talked a lot about interesting things from the other four. We covered some of the key people involved in both past efforts and this one, so, yep, we covered it all.
Oh wait, I forgot one thing – the actual game itself. You know, a football joust between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. We haven’t talked much about that, but game day is upon us, so let’s get focused.
The Chiefs are about 3 1/2-point favorites and most of the sports pundits (I used to be one) believe they will win, but not me.
Bucs 34, Kansas City 27.
Afterward, people will celebrate the ageless wonder that is Bucs quarterback Tom Brady (it still feels weird to type that). However, the Bucs will win this game because of their defense.
I know, that sounds strange to say after KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes torched the Bucs for 462 yards and three touchdown passes to Tyreek Hill in the Chiefs’ 27-24 win in Tampa on November 29.
However, the Bucs haven’t lost in the seven games since that one, including three road playoff wins. Their overall defense has greatly improved since that day, particularly their young secondary.
They turned three turnovers, including two interceptions against Drew Brees, into touchdowns to beat New Orleans in the second round of the playoffs. They forced two Green Bay turnovers, including an Aaron Rodgers’ interception, to defeat the Packers in the NFC Championship Game.
That’s worth considering as we look back at Tampa Bay’s earlier game with Kansas City. The Bucs fell behind 17-0 in that first meeting because secondary lapses not likely to be repeated. Hill had 13 catches that day for 269 yards. Seven of those catches and two touchdowns came in THE FIRST QUARTER for 203 yards.
That won’t happen again because the Bucs will pressure Mahomes better than in the first game. Three Kansas City starting offensive linemen will miss this game. That’s like ringing the dinner bell for the attacking Bucs, who come at opposing quarterbacks from every angle.
Mahomes will still get free sometimes and make huge plays, but not enough of them. Not this time.
I also expect the Bucs on offense to go after the Chiefs with a great balance of running and passing. Brady can choose between four excellent wide receivers – Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, and Scotty Miller. His old New England pal Rob Gronkowski and the unsung Cameron Brate are red-zone threats at tight end.
They can keep the Chiefs off-balance with running backs Ronald Jones and Jacksonville castoff Leonard Fournette.
This team peaked at the perfect time.
Kansas City is tremendous, of course, and no lead is safe against the Chiefs. However, no player has more Super Bowl victories than Brady, and he is about to add another one.
