Tampa Bay Finally Finds Way to Stop Chiefs, Brady Takes Home 7th Ring by Ari F.

Everyone has finally learned never to bet against Tom Brady. This past Sunday, Tom Brady took down Patrick Mahomes and the defending champion Chiefs to bring home Tampa Bay’s first Super Bowl in 18 years. A game that everyone thought would be one for the ages turned out to be the abrupt end to the Chief's apparent dynasty, for now. The final score was 31-9, with the Chiefs not scoring a touchdown for the first time in the Mahomes-Andy Reid era. It was also Mahomes’ largest defeat since his days at Texas Tech. Tom Brady won his seventh Super Bowl, more than any NFL franchise. He defied odds, proving that he can win without Bill Belichick and that age is just a number.

Everything went wrong for the Chiefs, at the worst time possible. Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz, both All-Pro tackles, were both unavailable for the game, leaving Patrick Mahomes with a patchwork offensive line against one of the best pass-rushing teams in the league. This led to Mahomes having no time in the pocket to make deep throws, or for some of Andy Reid's brilliant plays to develop. In his post game interview, Mahomes explained,”I just think we weren’t on the same page, as an offense in general.”

These unfortunate injuries, many defensive penalties that led to touchdowns and bad punts, all made it impossible for Mahomes to work his magic. The Chiefs did have a few bright moments though. Their defense made a fourth-down goal-line stand in the second quarter, to prevent the Bucs from pulling away. They also had an apparent interception, but it was called back, bringing back memories of the Dee Ford offsides call in the Chiefs’ AFC 2018 championship game against Tom Brady and the Patriots.

The Bucs played a great game on both sides of the ball. Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes, two to his old Patriots teammate Rob Gronkowski, and one to former Steeler Antonio Brown. He received his 5th Super Bowl MVP award, securing him as the “greatest of all time.” The Bucs defense played one of their best games of the year after being embarrassed by the Chiefs’ wide receiver Tyreek Hill in a Week 12 game, where he snatched 13 receptions for 269 yards and three touchdowns. They pressured Mahomes over 50% of the game, causing Mahomes to throw two picks. They locked down Hill, only allowing 73 yards on 10 targets. Travis Kelce, the Chiefs’ tight end and one of the hardest players to defend in the league, as he can find any gap in a zone, was the only receiver to surpass 100 yards on either team.

In the end, the Chiefs’ mishaps are not excuses. Overall, the Bucs played a better game. They learned from their mistakes after their Week 12 loss. Todd Bowles, the defensive coordinator of the Bucs, had an excellent game-plan to stop the best offense in the league, and their offense played exactly how they have all year long: run, play-action, or screen. As this memorable season comes to a close, we all know this is not the end of the Chiefs and young phenom Patrick Mahomes, and certainly not the end of the reign of Tom Brady.