Tampa Bay Buccaneers host and win Super Bowl LV
Updated: Jul 24
Brady and the Buccaneers rout Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-9, at Super Bowl LV.
Only three things are certain in life: death, taxes and Tom Brady winning the Lombardi Trophy. Brady, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, successfully won his seventh Super Bowl after leaving his former team, the New England Patriots.
“He's a winner, man,” Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said to ESPN. “That's all you can say. He brought a winning mentality to a really talented football team that didn't know how to win."
Brady and the Buccaneers demolished the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 led by Brady’s brilliance and a ferocious defense on their home field, Raymond James Stadium.
In the first half, all three of Brady’s touchdowns came after penalties. Two defensive holding calls led to tight end Rob Gronkowski’s two touchdown day and two defensive pass interference calls led to wide receiver Antonio Brown’s touchdown.
“At least 21-24 points that those guys scored came after penalties,” Chiefs defensive back Tyrann Mathieu said at his Super Bowl postgame press conference. “Anytime you do that against any good football team or any good quarterback, they are going to make you pay for it.”
And Brady made them pay, getting out to a 21-9 lead at halftime. Brady finished the night completing 21 of 29 passes for 201 yards.
The icing on the cake was a 27-yard touchdown run on the Buccaneer’s opening drive in the second half by running back Leonard Fournette to put the game away. Fournette finished the night with 89 yards on 16 carries.
“I’m a firm believer when you keep hitting in the mouth throughout the game, they are not going to want to tackle anymore,” Fournette said to the NFL Network.
The unsung hero of the game was defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. He sent a fierce pass rush to make Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes uncomfortable and to limit his possessions. Mahomes threw zero touchdowns for only the fifth time in his career, and two interceptions, and the Chiefs were 3-for-13 (23%) on third downs.
“Todd had a good plan,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said at his Super Bowl postgame press. “I could have done a whole lot better at putting these guys in a better position to make plays.”
Bowles’ defense also limited deep throws to the Chiefs dynamic duo of Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. Hill was the primary focus because he gashed the Buccaneers in their Week 12 matchup having 13 catches for 269 yards and three touchdowns. Tonight, he was held to seven catches for 73 yards. It was an all-around great effort by the Buccaneers' defensive unit.
After 13 seasons without a playoff appearance and 18 seasons since the last Buccaneers' Super Bowl win, Bucs fans deserve this moment. Fire the cannons!
Derrian Carter is a senior at Clark Atlanta University. He is a mass media arts major with a concentration in journalism. Email Derrian at: carter.derrian00@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter: @DerrianCarter00