Super Bowl 55 Prediction

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Following a Week 13 bye week, the Buccaneers have won every game they played. Tom Brady also became more in tune with his elite wide receiver core. The mid season signing of Antonio Brown only added to a star receiving lineup made up of receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.Tight end Rob Gronkowski came out of retirement prior to the start of this season in order to join his former teammate in New England, Brady. Gronkowski has not been performing at his former level from when he was with the Patriots, but he is still a huge threat in the endzone. 

On the other side of the ball, the Bucs defense has shown themselves to be one of the best in the league, especially in the latter half of the season. Everyone remembers the Week 12 loss to the Chiefs as Tyreek Hill’s game. While that isn’t far from the truth, it makes it too easy to forget the defensive performance from Tampa Bay later that game. Following a monstrous first quarter from Tyreek Hill, he was shut out the remainder of the game. If the Bucs do the same this Sunday, that removes one of the biggest weapons the Chiefs have. The Buccaneers proved they can trump an elite offense in the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers. The fact that they stopped one of the best offenses in the league in one of the biggest stages proves they have what it takes to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs.

Of course the main part of this Bucs team is Tom Brady. He has been in the league for more than two decades and has won six Super Bowls throughout his tenure.  Even at the age of 43, he continues to  threaten opposing defenses, not with his athleticism, but with the way he reads the field. Brady has improved his level of play, tremendously, after an inconsistent start to this season. It is not a surprise to anyone that he continues to show that  he is still one of the best in the game. It is also no secret that Brady steps his level of play up a notch in the postseason. 

All praise aside, there are still weaknesses the Bucs will need to get sorted out if they want to be victorious. No matter what happened later in the Week 12 game against the Chiefs one can’t just ignore that first quarter performance. Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill picked the secondary apart, and it took a whole quarter to put an end to it. Even if the Bucs can eliminate the deep threat, Tyreek Hill or Travis Kelce on a slant is just as deadly, and can easily pick up more yards after the catch.  If the Buccaneers want to win this game they are going to have to significantly limit both Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. It’s clear that Mahomes loves to target them, since both players finished with over 130 targets in the regular season. Since Hill and Kelce are both top level athletes, the Bucs are going to need to play a Cover 2 or Cover 3, rather than the Cover 1 defense they have been playing throughout the season. This could help make up for the difference in speed and strength when facing two of the best receivers in the league.

Kansas City Chiefs

It’s no surprise that the defending champs made it back to the Super Bowl this year. Head Coach Andy Reid and his team are competing to become a dynasty, lead by one of the most explosive offenses the league has ever seen. Dubbed the “Legion of Zoom,” KC boasts an amazing receiver core led by the best quarterback in football. Patrick Mahomes has been at his peak for the past three seasons and does not look like he is slowing down. After a concussion scare against the Browns in the divisional round, Mahomes and the Chiefs destroyed the Buffalo Bills, who were on a roll towards the end of the season. In that game, Tyreek Hill proved he’s one of the best receivers in football with 172 receiving yards. Tight end Travis Kelce also showed his reliability with 13 receptions. This type of offensive explosion has been the norm for the Kansas City Chiefs, and they will most likely maintain this high scoring football against the Bucs.

On defense, KC utilizes elite athletes like Chris Jones and Frank Clark to blitz the quarterback. Tom Brady has never been exceptionally fast, so Clark and Jones may be able to take advantage if they are able to build pressure against Tampa Bay’s pretty solid offensive line. Head Coach Andy Reid and Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo are great at masking defensive schemes and coming up with hidden blitzes or formations. While Brady is one of the most intelligent quarterbacks to touch a football, he may not know every trick Andy Reid has under his sleeve. In the secondary safeties Tyrann Mathieu and Daniel Sorensen have had great seasons. Nicknamed “the honey badger” for his swiftness and explosiveness, Mathieu is definitely an elite defensive threat deep in the field. 

If you wanted to judge KC by their regular season, their 14 win record is littered with close games against teams they should have beat more convingly. Yet if you take a look into the postseason, the Chiefs have proved they are still the Chiefs’ team we saw in 2019-2020 season. 

While Kansas City has a great and dominant team over the past two seasons, there are still some problems they need to address. Their linebackers often bite to play actions and other trick plays. This was especially evident in the game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5, as the raiders found ways to get open deep passes, which led to a win against the chiefs. The Chiefs offense also needs to better utilize the run game. They have a talented rookie in Clyde Edwards-Helaire and had signed Le’veon Bell in the mid-season. If they want to beat the Buccaneers their defense has to stay disciplined to limit big plays. 

Predictions

With all this information in mind I can see the Kansas City Chiefs beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They have already done it earlier in the season and it’s not a far reach to say they will do it again. In terms of score I can see it being a one score game. Tom Brady is no stranger to Super Bowl comebacks so I don’t see the Chiefs dominating the game. However, I do think this will be a high scoring game, as both teams have amazing offenses and are no strangers to scoring over 30 points. Tom Brady has said he wants to play until he’s at least 45, so there’s still a chance that this will not be his final Super Bowl appearance. Meanwhile Patrick Mahomes losing to Brady will continue to be an argument forever made in the future, when evaluating who can be dubbed “the GOAT.” No matter who wins, this game has the potential to become an instant classic.