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Two weeks after becoming the first team to punch a ticket to a Super Bowl on its home field, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won it.
After a stellar performance on both sides of the ball, the Bucs came away with a 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Feb. 7 in Super Bowl LV from Raymond James Stadium.
The win brings quarterback Tom Brady his seventh championship, one more than any single franchise.
Brady’s former team, the New England Patriots, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys all have six Super Bowl titles apiece.
At 43 years old, Brady threw three touchdowns, all in the first half, en route to 200-plus yards passing and no interceptions.
Following the game, he was named Super Bowl MVP for the fifth time in his career.
Playing in his first season with Tampa Bay after spending 20 seasons in New England, Brady has led the franchise to their second-ever championship.
Two of those three touchdown passes went to tight end and former Patriot, Rob Gronkowski, who retired two years ago following a Super Bowl win.
Brady found Gronk on a flat screen in the first quarter for their 13th postseason touchdown, the most in NFL history.
In addition, that score marked the first time in 10 Super Bowls, that Brady scored in the opening quarter of the game.
Gronkowski scored again later and finished with 67 yards on six receptions, leading the team in both categories.
Head coach Bruce Arians entered the game as the oldest head coach to participate in the Super Bowl and leaves the oldest the win one.
At 68 years old, the former two-time Coach of the Year, captures his first Super Bowl title as a head coach after securing two as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Former Steeler wide receiver Antonio Brown also won his first title after a tumultuous 2019 and 2020.
From being traded to the Las Vegas Raiders, eventual release and lengthy hiatus that caused many to wonder if he’d ever make it back to the football field.
However, Brown was signed in late October by Tampa Bay for a championship run.
He caught five passes on the night and finished with 22 yards
Fellow wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin also receive their first ring respectively despite not being able to be big contributors on the stat sheet.
Running back Leonard Fournette rushed for a game-high 89 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
After starting the season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Fournette ends it as a first-time champion.
Fellow running back LeSean McCoy won his second ring in as many years.
Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul improved his career postseason record to 8-0 dating back to his time with the New York Giants.
Second-year linebacker Devin White and longtime NFL staple Ndamukong Suh both won their first piece of hardware.
White recorded the game-sealing interception in the fourth quarter.
Tampa Bay was the last team to get a bye this season and reeled off eight straight wins after starting the season 7-5.
That streak includes a playoff run that saw the team score at least 30 points in every game.
Along the way Brady beat New Orleans’ Drew Brees, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers and KC’s Patrick Mahomes.
It marks the first loss in Mahomes’ career of more than one possession in addition to being his first playoff loss since the 2019 season.
The Chiefs’ last postseason loss came in the AFC Championship game against a Tom Brady-led Patriots team over 700 days ago.
Mahomes struggled for the majority of the night going 26-for-49, throwing for 270 yards and two interceptions.
With injuries depleting the team’s offensive line, Mahomes was on his horse, scrambling out of the pocket looking for home run plays from the first play from scrimmage.
This Todd Bowles-coached Tampa Bay defense only blitzed Mahomes five times during the game.
It was a game of many first for Mahomes but not like any other he’d ever experienced before.
Sunday marked the first time Mahomes didn’t throw a touchdown pass.
Moreover, his first third down completion came with 5:09 left in regulation.
Tight end Travis Kelce was the main target, reeling in 10 catches for 133 yards.
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill was somewhat held in check after torching the Bucs’ defense the first time around to the tune of, 73 yards on seven receptions.
Mahomes did not complete a single pass over 20 yards.
Penalties told the story for most of the game with Kansas City racking up 120 yards on 11 penalties.
On the other hand, Tampa Bay was flagged four times for a total of 39 yards.
A lot of the penalties came in the form of holding in the secondary.
The aforementioned Evans caused heavy concern in that Chiefs secondary drawing multiple penalties on numerous different players.
Safety Tyrann Mathieu was the recipient of multiple flags including holding and defensive pass interference.
The loss keeps Kansas City away from being the eighth team in NFL history to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles.