The biggest football game of the year is finally here. Despite COVID problems throughout the season, the NFL has successfully executed almost the entire 2020 season, and we’re down to two teams remaining. Who will win football’s greatest prize?
The 2019 Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs have been saying they want to “Run it Back” to another Super Bowl all year long. The Chiefs have done what they set out to do, except they walked it back more than ran. The Chiefs strolled their way to the Super Bowl this year, losing only one of their eighteen games so far. Patrick Mahomes has had another MVP caliber season and is looking to win his second Super Bowl in only the third year of his career.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have returned to the Super Bowl for the the first time since they won it back in 2003. While it’s been a while since the Bucs have been in the Super Bowl, their quarterback is no stranger to football’s greatest stage. Tom Brady will be participating in his tenth Super Bowl which is more than every other team in the NFL excluding the New England Patriots. Brady will have the chance to make even greater history as a win in Super Bowl LV will mean Tom Brady has won more Super Bowls (7) than any franchise in the entire NFL.
Unfortunately for Brady and the Buccaneers, I don’t think that’s going to happen. The Buccaneers are one of the best teams in the league, and they definitely earned their spot in the Super Bowl by beating the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers on their respective home fields. The Bucs are also the most well-rounded teams in the league with an explosive offense and a solid defense. If any other team were playing the Buccaneers in this game, I would pick Tampa. The problem is that no other team has Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs have had a rough week that would make any fan nervous. The Chiefs’ problems started on Sunday when their Pro Bowl tackle, Eric Fisher was injured against the Buffalo Bills. Fisher has since been ruled out for the Super Bowl. The Chiefs’ problems continued when their hair cutter who had been scheduled to cut the hair of more than twenty Chiefs players including Patrick Mahomes tested positive for COVID-19. Thankfully each player who scheduled for a haircut passed COVID protocol.
Despite their recent hardships, the Chiefs are still the favorite coming into this game because of their superstar quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. People often say of Mahomes, “You can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him.” I would go so far as to say that you can’t even contain him. Mahomes has a cannon of an arm in and out of the pocket and elite receivers who make his job look easy. Not only that, but Mahomes is one of the best rushing quarterbacks in the league. I would make the argument that you can’t contain Patrick Mahomes, you can only hope to keep up with him.
The Buccaneers certainly don’t have trouble putting points on the board, as they finished third in points per game among the entire league for the regular season at 30.8 ppg. With that offensive production, the Bucs should be able to keep up with the Chiefs offense with a lot of help from their defense.
It does not help to simply pressure Mahomes, as he throw on the move just as well as he can in the pocket. The Bucs are going to need to be in the face of Mahomes to disrupt his passing game. If the Buccaneers are able to get 5 or more sacks in this game, I think they may have a decent chance at winning this game.
Pierson Scheinberg is a student who lives in California, and attends the College Preparatory School. Pierson lived in Baltimore, Maryland until August 2017 when he moved to the Bay Area. Pierson is an avid golfer who enjoys watching all sports. He is a writer and sports analyst for At the Buzzer.
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