Tampa Bay and Kansas City Heading to Super Bowl LV

All is set for Super Bowl LV after Tom Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 31-26 win over the Green Bay Packers and Patrick Mahomes helped lead the Chiefs to a 38-24 victory against the Buffalo Bill.

This is familiar ground for Brady and will be his unprecedented record-setting tenth trip to the Super Bowl. At 42, Brady is the oldest to compete in a Super Bowl, and considering his performance against the Packers, he is far from showing his age. The Buccaneers took to Lambeau Field in Wisconsin, and it wasn’t long before they displayed the qualities that got them there in the first place.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will also be making history on Super Bowl weekend as the only team to host and play the Super Bowl at their own stadium. Tampa was on point much of the game controlling plays against the top-seeded Green Bay Packers.

While Brady is familiar with the rigours and pressure that comes from playing the Super Bowl, this is his first appearance as a Buccaneer. After 20 seasons, Brady surprisingly chose to sign with Tampa, a decision for Tampa, and Brady’s free agency has paid off remarkably well considering it has been thirteen years since they last made it to the Super Bowl.

Most commentators felt the move for Brady at that stage in his career was risky, especially knowing it meant leaving behind his friend and coach. Adding to his woes was the pandemic and Brady’s inability to work with Tampa’s coaching team and their offensive coordinators. That saw critics of the move being critical, but with Brady completing over 50% of his passes and going for 280 yards, he once again proved the naysayers wrong.

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After Tampa took the lead in the first, the Packers missed the opportunity to tie the game on the eight yard line only to be denied. While they managed to score a field goal, it wasn’t until the second before they managed to tie the game.

Less than two minutes of play later, the Bucc’s retook the lead with a touchdown pass to Leonard Fournette to make it 14-7, and with a second remaining on the clock, Tampa scored their third. With an eleven point lead over Green Bay, midway through the third, the Bucc’s made it 28-10, and it looked like the Packers fading fast.

However, Green Bay responded and managed to reduce the gap by seven with a touchdown and came within five in the third quarter’s final minutes. Yet, their efforts were too little too late after the Buccaneers extended their lead with a fourth quarter field goal. For now, Tom Brady has the chance to go the distance in his first year with a new team, something no other QB has done since Joe Montana. Commenting on the final seconds of the game, Coach Bruce Adams stated,

“I guess when I was holding the Halas Trophy, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. We’re actually gonna do it. We can dream about looking across the street [at the stadium] for two weeks.”

Super Bowl LV will also see Arians being the second oldest NFL coach since Marv Levy to make it to the Super Bowl. At 68, his time left coaching is limited, and with a player like Brady at the helm, it could see him being the oldest coast to win a Super Bowl Ring. Commenting on the Buccaneers per-season goal, Arians said,

“It was obviously the goal of ours to start the season, but getting to the Super Bowl wasn’t what our goal is. Our goal was to win it.”

Tampa Bay will now head home to celebrate and prepare for the challenge of facing defending Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. For punters, the Super Bowl is the perfect time to maximize the potential offered by the various Super Bowl promos being offered by leading Canadian friendly sportsbooks ramp up their welcome and free bet offers.

As for the Kansas City Chiefs, it will be their second appearance in 50 years, and with a foe like Tom Brady, a steep hurdle to overcome. Kanas QB, Patrick Mahomes, who was sidelined with a minor concussion last week, was showing no signs from its effects as he led the Chiefs to a dominating with against Buffalo. Mahomes finished the game with 325 yards scoring three touchdowns with the help of star offensives Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce.

However, while the Chiefs are within the hunt for back-to-back Super Bowl victories, facing Tom Brady once again is not a welcomed sight. However, for Mahomes, he is basking in the celebration of his teammates and their accomplishments, stating,

“It was just trusting each other. The best thing about this team is we believe in each other. But the job’s not finished. We’re going to Tampa; we’re trying to run it back.”