That's A Wrap
I think I can safely say that none of us was expecting a game that looked like this one. Tampa Bay had a rock-solid defensive plan for the defending champs, sending Mahomes on a run for his life on what seemed like every play.
The Bucs’ dream season started with signing Brady, then bringing Gronk back from retirement, and they won it all on their home field — with Brady being awarded the MVP. Brady wins an incredible seventh Super Bowl ring — more than any individual player and more than even any team. He long ago rewrote the rules on aging in the NFL, but this year, at 43, he appeared to have found new ways to defy nature.
I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of these Chiefs and their otherworldly quarterback. But for this game at least, the GOAT had the last laugh. The baby GOAT will have to wait for his next chance.
I am also struck by how this team came together around midseason and went on this run, culminating in the championship. They were supposed to be contenders going into the season, sure, but they also had more than a few question marks — which multiplied when they were 7-5 through 12 weeks. But from that point on, they were one of (if not the) best teams in the league, capping it off with an incredible performance on both sides of the ball, but especially on defense.
Co-sign with Maya. Brady’s the GOAT now. It’s beyond debate. 43!
Between their decimated o-line and an injured-looking quarterback, the Chiefs came into this game in much worse shape than I, at least, initially realized. Edwards-Helaire rushing for a season-high 7.1 yards per carry while Mahomes averaged less than 6 yards per throw was not on my bingo card. (I still can’t believe the Chiefs didn’t score a touchdown tonight.) But Brady Brady-d to the tune of a 125.8 passer rating, third-best on the season, and if this means I don’t have to listen to any more arguments about whether he’s indeed the GOAT, well, that’s a win in my book.
Michael, there’s a school of thought that says this season was one of Belichick’s best coaching jobs yet, given the utter lack of talent on both sides of the ball. And he’s every bit the driven competitor that Brady is. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jonathan Kraft signs off on a major push to get the Patriots back on top — or if Belichick gets them there.
I think Brady’s Super Bowls in New England will now be associated more with Brady than with Belichick. He’s not Bart Starr to Belichick’s Vince Lombardi, that’s for sure.
I didn’t believe last year’s Buccaneers team was a 43-year-old Tom Brady away from winning the Super Bowl. And he wasn’t THAT great: ninth in passer rating, ninth in QBR, fourth in DVOA, etc. And you can argue the Bucs caught some breaks, too: San Francisco imploded, along with Drew Brees’s rib cage, and somehow Brady went into Lambeau and threw three picks and came out a winner.
But there’s no denying that he was exceptional when they needed him to be, and he deserves every bit of credit he’s about to get.
Gannon, unlike Mahomes, was MVP that year.
Wonder if they’ll play this classic in the locker room celebrations for Brady?
Jon Gruden is just seething right now, Neil.
They both know what it feels like to run for their life from Tampa Bay defenders on this stage.
Probably, LOL.
Is that the first time Mahomes has ever been compared to Rich Gannon???
This is kind of like the 2002 Super Bowl — Rich Gannon was Mahomes. Never had a chance against the Bucs defense.
An interesting prop bet for Chiefs backers, according to BetPrep’s Brad Feinberg, was not betting the game, but the team to take the last snap, which is almost always the winning team. That was -110.
Michael B. Jordan in all the ads, please.
This Michael B. Jordan Amazon Alexa ad is the first great commercial tonight.
Bruce Arians getting his due is nice to see, and it’s especially cool that he has prioritized diversity on his staff. The three Tampa Bay coordinators are Black: defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong. And the Bucs have two female full-time assistant coaches: defensive line coach Lori Locust and assistant strength and conditioning coach Maral Javadifar.
Like me, Bruce Arians is from Paterson, NJ.
I do think it’s a little early to write off the Chiefs. Even making the Super Bowl two years in a row is tough is this age of parity.
Well, the Chiefs could still be a Dynasty. New England did not win again for two years after its first, and it didn’t even make the playoffs the season after its first Super Bowl win.
Yeah, Santul, I think that’s right. There’s probably a reason no team has ever won three straight Super Bowls, and only a few have ever even made three or more in a row. It’s really hard to stay at that level in the NFL compared with something like the NBA, where three-peats happen with some regularity.
Does it seem like the last few times there’s been an obvious dynasty on the rise (e.g., Seahawks after 2013-14, Chiefs after last season), that hasn’t come true? Maybe that speaks to pretty strong parity in the NFL relative to other leagues, but teams just don’t seem to have the “run it back” capability.
Mahomes is now 0-for-21 when targeting his recievers’ ankles.
This game is a lot like the Seahawks-Broncos Super Bowl.
To Jim Nantz’s point, this kinda takes us back to the era when great matchups on paper frequently turned into blowout Super Bowls once the games started.
The Chiefs sort of cheated in drafting Hill. Everyone knew he was a first-round talent. But he was off of draft boards because teams did not think they could get away with it. The Chiefs felt they could, took him in the fifth round and did get away with it. They have paid no price. They are a darling team.
Kansas City’s offense is now 2-for-13 on third or fourth downs. That’s not the whole reason they’re going to lose, but it has not helped after the Chiefs were one of the best teams at converting on those all season.
Ndamukong Suh has to be the biggest name nobody said in the run-up to this. Fourth on the Bucs with six regular-season sacks, his most since 2015. He made the 2010s All-Decade team and is now practically anonymous. But you still don’t want to see Mahomes take a shot to the face from him.
I still have a hard time knowing how to talk about Tyreek Hill (and Antonio Brown), and I think I’m not alone there. I really liked this story from Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr on how a Danish broadcaster has covered Hill.
Winfield gave the peace out right in Reek’s face. I want to hate it, but I can’t.
I guess the call didn’t matter, but still.
They are enjoying this a bit too much.
You can tell the Bucs’ defense was pretty tired of hearing about how great the K.C. offense was!
OMG, a taunting flag? Winfield, what are you doing??
Guys were not open. I get that the left-tackle position hurt the Chiefs. But Tampa Bay’s coverage was uniformly great.
Another huge lick taken by Mahomes. Sheeeeesh.
I’m not saying Belichick is not a great coach. But Brady winning a Super Bowl at age 43 against Mahomes and three MVP QBs in a row elevates Brady and thus dings Belichick, since this is a zero sum game.
This sums things up nicely:
He not only had that total, Neil, but over 200 yards in the first quarter. And the Bucs have not paid a Kelce tax, really, for shutting down Hill. They did not have to pick their poison.
And we’ve got a fan on the field!
This is 1980s commentator-level of analysis, but it seems like there are three white jerseys converging on the ball, wherever it goes.
This drive is talking too long. K.C. needs a quick score, right now.
That was such a great point Romo made about using the high safeties to take away the threat of Hill over the top. We can’t stress enough that he had 269 receiving yards in the previous matchup during the regular season. He has under 40 yards tonight.
I hate watching Mahomes limp like this. Ugh.
I know, Sara. We did a Super Bowl MVP flow chart once at The Wall Street Journal. It became unwieldy. But there is no other answer.
Is “the negative presence of Eric Fisher” an eligible choice for defensive MVP?
That is a lame and no-fun answer, Mike.
Brady is MVP with this game script, 100 out of 100 times.
Shockingly, that’s only the second sack of the night on Mahomes.