WASHINGTON ─ Many people outside the US may not understand why we, Americans, go crazy over American football. But to us, it is the air we breathe ─ similar to how conventional football or soccer (I know you hate it when we refer to the Beautiful Game as such) is to the rest of the world ─ or how cricket is to India.
As it serves the right dose of drama and skill on and off the pitch, I am asking you to take a chance on the National Football League (NFL) and see if you don’t get hooked on it!
Monday morning at 7:30 AM, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV (55). It will be the first time, in the long history of the game, that a home team ─ the Bucs ─ will host a Super Bowl on their field at Raymond James Stadium.
But the big storyline is that Tom Brady, who has earned himself the title of ‘Greatest of All Time’ ─ or G.O.A.T ─ by winning six Lombardi Trophies, will be playing in his record 10th Super Bowl in his first year as quarterback of the Buccaneers.
Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs are the defending Super Bowl Champions, and many consider their young 25-year-old quarterback, Patrick Mahomes ─ the best young signal caller in the National Football League ─ the heir apparent to Brady.
However, at the age of 43, Brady is not yet ready to pass the baton ─ as the top quarterback in football history ─ to Mahomes. He feels that he will be able to lead Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl title and, in so doing, grab his seventh World Championship ring.
No quarterback in NFL history has won more than four Super Bowl titles and so, for Brady to get seven, it would certainly add to his Hall of Fame career. All 10 of his Super Bowl appearances, and his six titles, came with the New England Patriots, who parted ways with Brady after the 2019 NFL season.
While the main storyline is the showdown of the two best quarterbacks in the NFL, it seems, there is far more to it than that. As both Brady and Mahomes are the headliners in the game, it will be their supporting cast respectively that will help to determine who becomes the 2021 Super Bowl Champion.
Lets’ break down the keys to winning for both teams:
For Tampa Bay to win their second Super Bowl in team history, they will need to establish the running game because Mahomes and the explosive Chiefs’ offense cannot beat you if they are not on the field.
Despite a super season by Brady, the Buccaneers’ success comes from the best running game in the NFC this season. Tampa Bay ranked first in yards-per-carry allowed (3.6), led by the tandem of running backs, Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones II, who have been a big part of the team’s success.
Their running game has provided the Buccaneers two very important parts to any Brady-led offense. By running the ball with success that makes the play action pass to Antonio Brown (who returns after an injury), Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Scotty Miller, Rob Gronkowski, and Cameron Brate, along with Fournette coming out of the backfield, Tampa Bay can cause matchup issues for the Chiefs’ defence.
Kansas City comes to Tampa with a patchwork offensive line and their job is to give Mahomes time to make plays. But the Buccaneers got to the Super Bowl with the help of their aggressive defence led by edge rushers, Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaq Barrett, joined by two of the best run stuffers in the league, namely Vita Vea and Ndamukong Suh, who made up the group that shut down two certain Hall of Fame quarterbacks in the plays in the Saints, Drew Brees, and the Packers, Aaron Rodgers.
Meanwhile, there is a reason why the Chiefs come to Tampa for Super Bowl LV to defend their championship. Mahomes might be the centre of attention but he has weapons that allow him to be the creative playmaker that he has become.
Enter Tyreek Hill, the most explosive offensive he has and one of the NFL’s best wide receivers with amazing speed and the ability to change directions in a flash.
The last time the Chiefs faced Tampa Bay earlier in the season, Hill burned the Buccaneers’ defence for over 200 yards with a touchdown in just the first quarter.
So, what if Tampa Bay can slow Hill down?
Well then, Mahomes goes to his second favourite target in Travis Kelce, the Chiefs’ tight end. He is a beast, and with his size and speed, Kelce has become one of the best in the business and is a matchup problem for every defence he has faced.
In the playoffs alone, Kelce has 21 catches for 227 yards and two touchdowns, and during the regular season, he was the best in his position in the league. So, you may be able to stop one of these guys but good luck to the Buccaneers’ defence in stopping both.
On defence, teams that have had success against Brady have been able to apply pressure on the 43-year-old superstar and make him rush his throws.
The Chiefs love to blitz and then rely on their super secondary, led by All-Pro Tyrann Mathieu and Daniel Sorensen, at cornerbacks with safeties, Charvarius Ward, L’Jarius Sneed, Bashaud Breeland and Rashad Fenton, looking to clamp down on those talented Buccaneers’ receivers.
Okay, we have given you all the key matchups and now that brings us to who will win. Well, I have learned one thing over the years: not to bet against Tom Brady, for he will burn you every time.
This has been a dream season for ‘The Brady Bunch’, and the Tampa Bay area, where the Lightning won the Stanley Cup Championship, the Rays were in the World Series losing to the Dodgers and the Rowdies won USL soccer championship. Now, the Buccaneers are playing the Super Bowl at home in Raymond James Stadium.
Look for Brady to lead Tampa Bay to a big win on Monday morning in Super Bowl LV by a score of 31-28. ─ The Vibes, 6 February, 2021
Jim Williams is an Emmy Award winning broadcaster and producer. He is The Vibes' US correspondent based in Washington.
