After a long and unusual football season, Super Bowl LV is only one week away. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play the Kansas City Chiefs in what should be one of the most hyped matchups in Super Bowl history. The two juggernauts will face off on Sunday, February 7th, at Raymond James Stadium. Both teams faced very different roads to the Super Bowl, as the Chiefs were the #1 seed in the AFC and the Buccaneers were an NFC wildcard team. The Chiefs beat Cleveland and Buffalo at home, whereas the Buccaneers knocked out three division winners (Washington, New Orleans, and Green Bay) on the road. Although Mahomes vs Brady has clearly earned most of the early hype, there are still many other important factors that will affect the outcome of this game. Without further of due, let’s get into five advantages the Buccaneers have over the Chiefs in SBLV.
1. Raymond James Stadium
In the Super Bowl’s 55 year history, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the first team to ever play a Super Bowl in their home stadium. Although the stadium will not be close to full capacity, fans should expect the Buccaneers to use the home field to their advantage. Even with the lack of fans, expect an extra boost in confidence in this Buccaneers squad, as they are playing on their home turf.
2. Tom Brady’s Experience
Sure, Tom Brady will not be the best quarterback skill wise next Sunday, as the young Mahomes has already established his dominance in that category. However, Brady has all the experience that one could ask for. When it comes to the Super Bowl, nobody knows more than Tom Brady. With 4 Super Bowl MVP’s and 6 Super Bowl Victories, Brady’s claims of the GOAT title are backed up. Brady is also arguably the most clutch player in NFL history, with 48 game winning drives and almost 40 4th quarter comebacks. He has shown over his career to be both a great leader and team player. At the end of the day, Tom Brady is the guy the Buccaneers will need when the game is on the line.
3. Kansas City’s Offensive Line Struggles
Although Patrick Mahomes presents himself as one of the most elusive quarterbacks in recent NFL history, a struggling offensive line will still be a problem for the Chiefs against the Buccaneers. With the recent news that left tackle Eric Fisher will be out due to an Achilles injury, the Chiefs have a big position to fill for Super Bowl LV. Mike Remmers is expected to fill in for Eric Fisher as the protector on Mahomes’s blindside. Although it’s not fair to judge a player off of one game, Remmers did struggle to protect Cam Newton against Von Miller back when he played for the Panthers in Super Bowl 50. As many people remember, the two strip sacks against Cam Newton were arguably the most important plays of the game, and Mike Remmers was the left tackle for both of them.
For most of this season, Remmers filled in at the right tackle position for Mitchell Schwartz. Schwartz, who will not be playing against the Buccaneers, went down earlier this season and was placed on the IR. With Schwartz out and Remmers being moved to the left side of the line, Andrew Wylie is expected to be the right tackle for the Chiefs. Considering Kansas City’s offensive line is being reshuffled so much, many fans are left to wonder whether they’ll be ready for the big game. If the Buccaneers want to win this year’s Super Bowl, they will need to attack and expose Kansas City’s struggling offensive line.
4. Buccaneers Pash Rush
If injuries did not present enough of an issue for Kansas City’s offensive line, the Buccaneers pash rush sure will. The Buccaneers defense is playing arguably their best football of the season at just the right time, as they sacked Aaron Rodgers five times in the NFC title game. With the likes of Ndamukong Suh and Jason Pierre-Paul leading the way, the Buccaneers pass rush should be able to pressure Mahomes. A few of the biggest Buccaneers pash rushers have also played in the big game before, which gives them the experience factor as well. When push comes to shove, Buccaneers fans should expect their team to be very physical up front.
5. Tom Brady’s Ability to Throw the Deep Ball
For the Buccaneers to win Super Bowl 55, Brady and company will need to take some risks. The Chiefs offense will put the football in the endzone many times due to the unpredictability of Patrick Mahomes. Unfortunately for Brady, he will need to keep up with very few mistakes if he wants to lead his team to victory. However, that should not come off as unrealistic, as Brady has been able to confuse defenses due to his ability to throw the deep ball. Just last week, Brady threw a 39 yard touchdown pass to Scotty Miller to end out the first half against the Packers.
To make matters even better for Brady, he has one of the best receiving cores in the NFL, with Antonio Brown back in the lineup after missing the NFC Championship game. With the arsenal of weapons that Brady has at his dispense, he should be able to find his receivers open for a few deep shots down the field.
Overall Conclusion
Overall, if Tom Brady and the Buccaneers defense plays at peak level against the Chiefs, the Buccaneers will have a real good shot at bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to Tampa Bay. Although executing everything perfectly on the biggest stage should come off as no easy task, the Buccaneers have many experienced guys who have been through this process before. When the Buccaneers take the field, they will be ready to face the defending Super Bowl champions. Until then, we can only wonder what will happen on Super Bowl Sunday.