Super Bowl LV: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Published February 7, 2021 by Sol FH
Super Bowl 55 is set to kick-off on Sunday Night at 23:30 and the QB battle is on the minds of everyone.
It is finally time. Super Bowl LV is just about set to kick-off after what was the most challenging NFL Regular Season ever recorded. From no fan attendance to players needing to miss multiple games due to quarantine, 2020/21 has been a wild time, and, I think we can all agree, an era that we would like to soon forget.
At Super Bowl LV there will be limited attendance, which should add at least some energy to the game, albeit not even coming close to the decibel levels we are used to.
There are a million storylines that we could discuss ahead of this game but none more important than the QB matchup... Brady vs. Mahomes.
Now, don't get me wrong. You cannot make it to the big show without having a stellar team. Anyone that takes a look at the final two teams left standing can see that they are both riddled with talent. Players like the rocket-fast Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce to Tyrann Mathieu to Mike Evans to Antoine Winfield Jr., both teams have tons of talent. Let's face it, most of the headlines are about Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady, who are each poised to make history in Super Bowl LV. When it comes down to it, Quarterbacks are the most important players on the field, especially when there is a championship on the line.
This is arguably the best ever QB matchup in the history of the NFL. On the one hand, defending Super Bowl champion and former MVP, Patrick Mahomes, who is currently the best QB in the NFL. And on the other hand, you've got Tom Brady, who has more Super Bowl rings on his hands than any other QB and now has the chance to win the most championships among any player ever to play the game.
In their head-to-head history, Mahomes and Brady are 2-2, but let's take a closer look.
Patrick Mahomes was just six years old when Tom Brady won his first Super Bowl back in 2002. Now, after Mahomes has inked a 10-year, $450 million contract extension, he finished the regular season with 4,740 passing yards, 38 touchdowns, and a 66.3 completion percentage.
Brady, who is making his 10th Super Bowl appearance, finished the regular season just behind Mahomes with 4,633 passing yards and a completion percentage of 65.7. Brady had more touchdowns with 40.
Their first meeting was on October 14 in 2018, wherein the Patriots beat the Chiefs 43-40 in week 6. Brady could already feel that Mahomes was going to be something big, as the rookie QB threw for 352 yards, 4TDs and 2INT. In that game, Brady threw for 340 yards and 1TD.
Their next matchup was in the 2019 AFC Championship Game, where Brady once again got the better of Mahomes, winning 37-31 in overtime. Brady threw for 348 YDS, 1 TD, and 2 INT, while Mahomes threw for 295 YDS and 3 TDs.
Then, there was a changing of the guard and Mahomes turned up the heat after gaining a bit more experience.
In Week 14 in 2019, the Chiefs beat the Patriots 23-16, Mahomes had 283 YDS, 1 TD, and 1 INT, while Brady had just 169 YDS, 1 TD, and 1 INT.
This trend continued this season when the Bucs and the Chiefs met in Week 12, wherein Kansas City beat the Bucs 27-24. Mahomes threw for 462 YDS and had 3 TDs. Brady, who also had a good night threw for 345 YDS, 3 TDs, but had 2 costly INTs.
QB Keys to Victory
Brady is old. He needs to move a lot more, albeit even though he is at his most successful when he is a statue behind the line. He will also need to think about his deep passes a lot more. He will be dealing with arguably the best safety in the game right now in Tyrann Mathieu who can make turnovers appear seemingly out of nowhere.
Mahomes will need to be patient, albeit, quick, against the Tampa Bay defense. He cannot be conservative when going deep and needs to take advantage of the Bucs' defensive rush and turn them into points. He is not the speediest QB, but, Mahomes will need to run with the ball a lot more when given the chance.
Super Bowl Odds
The Super Bowl odds are in and they are very close. At bet365 Sports, the defending champs are the favorites at 1.58, while the Bucs are just behind at 2.50.
The odds in this article at the bookmaker mentioned above were accurate at the time of writing, on Thursday, Feb. 4 at 12:45 GMT.
