Inside Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida in February 2021 the Tampa Bay Buccaneers secured their second franchise championship as they beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9. History has been made as the Buccaneers are the first team to win the Super Bowl in their own stadium. Also not to mention Tom Brady secures his seventh ring placing him with more rings than any NFL franchise.
Before all the credit is given to Brady, Todd Bowles’ gameplan to stop the red hot Chiefs was executed perfectly as they held them to 107 rushing yards and 243 passing yards with no touchdowns scored. With a depleted Kansas City offensive line, the Buccaneers had constant pressure on Mahomes leading to three sacks, two interceptions and five tackles for loss. The Buccaneers played a complete game which was too much for the Chiefs to handle. Newly added players Rob Gronkowski, Leonard Fournette, and Antonio Brown all scored touchdowns. The Tom Brady effect is in full display. All of these players came out of their own unique situations to end up winning a championship. With that being said the Super Bowl MVP was Tom Brady as he set the record for MVP’s with five of these awards. Tom Brady’s documentary web series “Tom vs Time” aired in 2018, yet three years later this slogan seems to have a never ending lifespan as Brady is now 43 years old still setting records and playing at a high level.
Further in depth look of the game
The game started off slow as the first quarter only had 10 points aggregate. The Chiefs would drive into Buccaneers territory but would not convert as Tyreek Hill could not come down with a potential touchdown pass from Mahomes. Leading the Chiefs to settle for a Harrison Butker 49 yard field goal. The Buccaneers would drive down the field establishing their run game with Fournette which led to the first touchdown of the game as Gronkowski sneaked right by the Chiefs defense. The Chiefs seemed to turn the momentum into their favor as they stopped the Buccaneers at the goal line forcing a turn on downs. Yet Gronkowski’s touchdown would foreshadow how the game would go as Gronkowski would set Super Bowl records in this game. Gronkowski would become the leader in Most Super Bowls with 1+ receptions with five of them. Gronkowski would catch a 17 yard touchdown from Brady in the second quarter setting another Super Bowl record. He would also join Hall of Fame Jerry Rice as the only players to have multiple receiving touchdowns in multiple Super Bowls.
The Chiefs would score a 34 yard field goal by Butker in the next drive. The Chiefs were hobbled with penalties leading to an Antonio Brown touchdown right before the second quarter ended. The Chiefs are known for how fast they can score and are used to coming back. In their Super Bowl run last year the Chiefs were down 24-0 against the Houston Texans and dug themselves out of the hole. Chiefs fans were hopeful for another comeback as their team was down 21-6. The opening drive led to another field goal putting more points on the board fast. Yet the Buccaneers would not stop pressuring the Chiefs as Fournette would put the dagger with a 27 yard rushing touchdown. This would be the downfall for the Chiefs as constant pressure from the Buccaneers defense through the weak offensive line led to two interceptions and 9 total points throughout the Super Bowl. Mahomes would give it his all escaping the pocket and throwing superhero throws but to no avail.
The Buccaneers would win the Super Bowl 31-9 proving their perseverance after a very hard fought playoff run on the road. Notable mentions of Devin White and Antoine Winfield as their performance shined through in the Super Bowl as they each had an interception.
Will the Buccaneers repeat? They certainly have the talent to do so. They are projected to have 38.1 million dollars in cap space. They need to work on retaining either Shaquil Barret, Lavonte David, and Chris Godwin. With that being said, a well deserved Super Bowl win against a tough football team has led them to be crowned Super Bowl Champions.
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