For the tenth time in his illustrious career, Tom Brady will find himself in the Super Bowl, this time at the helm of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On the other side, the Kansas City Chiefs, with their young star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, will have the opportunity to defend their title. It is quite a shock that looms on February 7 in Tampa.
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The Buccaneers started the day with a 31-26 win over the Packers and will become the first-ever team to play the Super Bowl game at their stadium.
It will also be a second year in a row with the presence of a Quebec player at the Super Bowl. After Laurent Duvernay-Tardif last year, it is the turn of Buccaneers tight end Antony Auclair to find himself in the ultimate match. It was not possible to speak to him after the meeting.
For his part, Brady becomes the fourth quarterback in history to bring two different teams to the Super Bowl, after Craig Morton (Cowboys and Broncos), Kurt Warner (Rams and Cardinals) as well as Peyton Manning (Colts and Broncos).
The veteran had a two-stroke game, scoring 202 yards in the first half and three touchdowns. In the second half, however, he added just 78 yards and threw three interceptions.
The Buccaneers struck from their initial offensive streak when Brady joined receiver Mike Evans in the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown.
The Packers responded on their next offensive streak when Aaron Rodgers threw a dart at Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a 50-yard pass and run.
It all fell apart for the Packers, who saw their rivals register three straight touchdowns to build a 28-10 lead early in the third quarter. The Cheeseheads shot each other in the foot with two turnovers that resulted in 14 points for the Buccaneers.
Aborted ascent
The Packers did try to get back into the game afterwards. After touchdowns from Robert Tonyan and Davante Adams, they narrowed the lead to 28-23 in the fourth quarter. They then caused two interceptions of Tom Brady in quick succession, without managing to register a single point from these turnovers.
The Buccaneers then added a 46-yard field goal from Ryan Succop to extend their lead.
In a defining offensive streak, the Packers then knocked on the door of goals, hitting the Buccaneers 8-line. In a fourth down situation, Packers head coach Matt Lafleur opted for a field goal with just two minutes to go. Conservative strategy will be talked about for a long time, considering it deprived Aaron Rodgers of the opportunity to make a big play. The quarterback finished the game with 346 yards and three touchdowns.
The Chiefs too explosive
The Chiefs defeated the Bills 38-24 and Mahomes shone with 325 yards and three touchdowns, including two to tight end Travis Kelce. Wide end Tyreek Hill was also dominant with nine receptions for 172 yards.
Still, the Bills had a 9-0 lead in the first quarter. Except that the Chiefs have become accustomed to this kind of scenario. Since 2019, they have shown an eloquent record of eight wins and two losses when they are trailing by at least nine points.
The Chiefs were formidable on offense with five touchdowns in as many appearances in the pay zone. This is a critical aspect, they who showed an ordinary success rate of 59% in this context this season. On the contrary, the Bills registered only two touchdowns in four appearances.
The Bills had to settle for four field goals, including two at the 8-yard line and 2 yards from the Chiefs. This is not the recipe for success against such an explosive team.
Bills hub Josh Allen harvested some of his 287 yards when the case was lost. His ace receiver Stefon Diggs was limited to 77 yards.
The Chiefs’ underrated tertiary got the job done, as did the defensive front. According to ESPN, Josh Allen found himself under pressure on 27 of the 57 passing games that were called up, a huge rate.
Kansas City representatives will have the opportunity to become the first since the 2003 and 2004 Patriots to win the Super Bowl two years in a row.
