Why The Buccaneers Will Win: Super Bowl Preview

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will head into the Super Bowl as slight underdogs. That is to be expected since they are going up against the reigning champs.

Tampa has won three straight road playoff games to get to the big game. Their defense has been sensational in the postseason. After going to Washington and beating a not-so-great quarterback in Taylor Heinicke, their defense showed up big time against two future first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterbacks. 

After the Kansas Chiefs took care of the Bills, the Bucs will now look forward to a rematch from Week 12, where they lost to the Chiefs 27-24.

Morry Gash/AP Photo

Going into this game, these are the Bucs keys to success against the Chiefs:

1. Defense

   In Week 12, Patrick Mahomes torched the Buccaneers defense, throwing for 462 yards, 3 touchdowns and no picks. Tyreek Hill had 13 catches for 269 yards and caught all 3 of Mahomes’ touchdown passes. Hill had 7 catches for 203 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first quarter alone. The Bucs defense tightened up after the second half, but by then, they were down by too much for them to make a comeback. This time around, they will need to get more pressure on Mahomes with their front four, because too many blitzes could lead to deep bombs over their heads. 

   In the playoffs, however, the Buccaneers defense has played great in both games.

   Against Drew Brees and the Saints, the Bucs defense forced four turnovers on the Saints and held the Saints to just 20 points and picked off Brees 3 times throughout the game. Brees looked every bit his age when matched up against that ferocious Bucs defense and Michael Thomas did not catch a single pass in the Divisional Round.

   The following week, the Bucs defense once again held a Hall of Fame quarterback in check, this time in the NFC Championship Game with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. Against the Green Bay Packers, they held the league’s most efficient red zone offense to just 2 touchdowns, on 4 Red Zone trips. That is well below the efficiency that the Packers showed during the regular season. Davante Adams caught 9 balls, however, they only went for 67 yards and a touchdown. While Aaron Rodgers was hell-bent on forcing the ball to Davante Adams in the Red Zone, the Bucs will need to be more careful this time around as Mahomes has plenty of different options he will go to in those situations. The Bucs will have more to deal with come Sunday. 

2. Tom Brady

The six-time Super Bowl Champion will be looking to add an unprecedented seventh title to his resume. In the nine Super Bowls that Brady has played in, he has had a go-ahead drive late in the game in eight of the nine. A close game is something he has thrived in throughout his career. If he has the ball late in the game within striking distance, the Buccaneers have a great shot to walk away with their second Super Bowl title in franchise history. 

Brady has been up and down this season and in the playoffs, he has not put together an overall solid game yet. He has put together stretches, but not a complete game yet. He will have to be at his absolute best in order to hang with Mahomes and the Chiefs. The Packer’s offense is great, but they were not able to take advantage of Brady playing terribly and throwing three interceptions in the second half. If Brady puts together another terrible second half, he will not get the chance to perform his late-game magic. The Chiefs are too explosive to give them extra possessions turning the ball over. Brady needs to jump on them early and not let up if they manage to get a lead. Last year the Chiefs won all three of their postseason games when they trailed by double figures, including coming back from 24 down against the Houston Texans in the 2020 Divisional Round. 

Brady is the greatest quarterback in NFL history and with the team, he has right now, he has a great chance at winning a seventh ring and adding to his legacy. However, the Chiefs offense has too many weapons to be stopped throughout all four quarters. It will be tough this time around for Tom Brady to break the opposing team’s heart with a late game-winning drive. Expect to see Brady pull off another one and lead a game-winning drive to win his seventh Lombardi Trophy.

ZACHARY’S PREDICTION: Buccaneers 31 - 28