Never bet against the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All-Time). For now, that’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. Someday, that may be Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. But not on this day at Super Bowl LV, as the underdog Tampa Bay Bucs destroyed the defending champion Chiefs by 31-9 in a game that seemed over in the first half.
A stifling Tampa Bay defense had Mahomes running for his life for much of the game, as Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Todd Bowles devised an attacking defense that threw Mahomes off his game. It wasn’t pretty, and Kansas City had no answers. It was an unexpected blowout of the defending champions, and as CBS announcer Jim Nantz noted, a lot of people were probably disappointed that the game turned into a rout.
Related Story
Reddit Ad Runs Five Seconds, But Makes Its Point Against Wall Street And Robinhood
Worse, the Kansas City Chiefs defense was carved up by the wily veteran Brady, who threw 3 touchdown passes in the first half and stepped on the gas in the second to squelch any hopes of a comeback.
Brady won the Super Bowl MVP and his 7th Super Bowl ring, a mark that may never be topped. He now holds the record for the most Super Bowl wins by any player in the National Football League, having previously won 6 rings with New England. Tampa Bay won its second Super Bowl title as a franchise, its first since 2002-2003.
For Brady, the win may have been particularly sweet. He abandoned his long-time home in New England to become a free agent, choosing Tampa Bay as the vehicle to give him the best shot at another ring.
At 43, he is ancient among quarterbacks, but his health regimen has allowed him to deliver on a level the equal of any of the younger generation in the game. He finished the game 21-29 for 201 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, sporting a quarterback rating of 125.8.
Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians became the oldest head coach to win a Super Bowl at 68 years-old. Arians briefly retired to the TV booth, but came back because he missed the camraderie of a football locker room.
Mahomes, an NFL MVP and looking to become the first quarterback to win in his first two Super Bowl appearances, looked very mortal. He only broke the 100-yards passing mark in the third quarter, and accumulated most of his stats in garbage time after his team fell way behind.
