Tom Brady Wins Another Ring With the Help of Tampa's Defense

This Super Bowl was supposed to be a great battle, the goat vs the possible successor. Buccaneers (Bucs) QB Tom Brady is in his tenth Super Bowl (6-3), while Patrick Mahomes is in his second Super Bowl (1-0). Mahomes and the Chiefs were looking to start a dynasty by winning back-to-back Super Bowls, while Brady was looking for that seventh championship ring to solidify his goat status.

At first, Super Bowl 55 was off to a slow start; the Bucs went four-and-out followed by the Chiefs punting one away as well. One squad who showed up right away was the Bucs' defense, who came through in the first quarter pressuring Mahomes multiple times, leading to incomplete and sloppy passes. The most pressure came from the veterans, LB Shaq Barrett and DE Jason Pierre Paul. With the Chiefs' offensive line banged up, this dynamic duo continued to put loads of pressure on Mahomes with no issues.

On the other side, the Chiefs recorded one sack in the first quarter from their DE, Alex Okafor. The Chiefs defense was not much of a factor in the first quarter. In particular, their run defense was slacking, which allowed the Bucs' offense to keep the Chiefs on their toes with a balanced attack that included play-action. Brady looked like the old Brady (in a good way), as he used WR Antonio Brown to get downfield to allow TE Rob Gronkowski to score the first touchdown. Interestingly enough, that was Brady's first touchdown in the first quarter for all SuperBowls.

Going into the second quarter, the Bucs had their way going down the field again. Although, now the Chiefs defense was bending, but not always breaking. Four goal-line stops from the Chiefs defense allowed their offense a shot to regain the lead as they forced a turnover on downs at the one-yard line.

As the game went on, the Chiefs' defense became more competitive, but they beat themselves by committing too many penalties in critical moments. As a result, they had what could have been a game-changing interception called back due to holding. Also, what would have been a 4th down and forced a field goal, turned into another Gronk touchdown after the Chiefs jumped offsides and gave Tampa a first down and another shot.

The first half ended 21-6 Bucs. It was all Brady and the Bucs, as there were three touchdowns between the three former Patriots players. Meanwhile, Mahomes and his wideouts were nowhere to be found, scoring not one touchdown.

The second half was not much different, as the Bucs kept their foot on the gas. Although at first, it did look like Mahomes was getting hot, until some drops and pressure resulted in the first drive to be limited to a field goal.

Two offensive lineman starters being out really hurt the Chiefs, as the rest of the offensive line must have still been in Kansas City because they weren't showing up in Tampa. Mahomes needed some help that never showed up.

The Bucs then answered with a rushing touchdown by RB Leonard Fournette.

One could sense then it might be too tough for the Chiefs to make a comeback like they usually do. They couldn't protect Mahomes or stopped the Bucs' high-power offense.

Then all of a sudden the Bucs ended the third quarter up 31-9. Mahomes played the game looking defeated, while Brady looked like what many expected from Mahomes that tonight. Playing at this level at the age of 42 is insane, in any sport, never mind football.

Even though Brady had a good game, if a defense could win MVP, then the Bucs defense should have gotten it. The defense played their hearts out while doing what most NFL teams could not do, shut Mahomes and his star-studded receiving core down. They had a field day, from pressuring Mahomes almost every play, taking an interception, forcing multiple receivers to drop easy catches, and not allowing Mahomes to complete any 3rd down conversions in the air (0 for 8). Mahomes finished the game with zero touchdowns, 270 passing yards, and two interceptions on 23/45 attempts. Also, this is the first time Mahomes has lost by double digits in his four-year career. The defense sacked Mahomes twice in the game and knocked him down eight times, but it seems like almost every play, they were causing him to move around. Mahomes never looked comfortable out there.

Meanwhile, Brady finished with 201 yards, three touchdowns, and a passer rating of 125.8. This all led to him winning his seventh Super Bowl in ten attempts and another Super Bowl MVP. Not bad for a 43-year-old. This win also makes Bruce Arian the oldest head coach to ever win a Super Bowl.

Overall, the Bucs dominated this game on both sides of the field. The Chiefs' defense had no answer for Brady or the run game, and the Bucs defense had all the answers for the Chiefs' offense.