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The Super Bowl game is officially set, with the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers set to face off in Tampa in two weeks. Interestingly, the Buccaneers will become the first team to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium, and the Bucs defense will need that edge on the pitch if they are to stop this explosive Chiefs attack. Patrick Mahomes and Co. racked up 439 yards in total offense against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game, as they earned a 38-24 victory. The Buccaneers were in a much closer conference championship game against the Green Bay Packers, but they managed to escape the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field with a 31-26 victory.
This will be the first Super Bowl to feature the last two Super Bowl winning quarterbacks. The Chiefs and Buccaneers met in Tampa in Week 12, and Kansas City left Florida with a 27-24 victory. The Chiefs took a 17-0 lead in the first quarter, but slowly brought Tom Brady and the Bucs back into the game. The Buccaneers scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, but that wasn’t enough to secure a comeback victory. Still, it was the last loss for the Buccaneers, who took seven straight wins to make the championship game. Will Super Bowl LV follow a similar script to their game earlier this season? Which players can we hope to stand out on the biggest stages? Below, we’ll take a look at five top Super Bowl predictions.
1. Tyreek Hill Shoots Over 100 Receiving Yards and Wins Super Bowl MVP Title
Hill has proven himself to be one of the best receivers in the NFL over the past few seasons – and certainly the fastest – but the Pro Bowl range has been playing on a different level lately. In the Chiefs’ divisional round game against the Cleveland Browns, he caught eight passes for 110 yards, then exploded for 172 yards on nine catches in the conference championship game. His 172 receiving yards were the most important playoffs in Chiefs history, and it marked his third straight playoff game with over 100 receiving yards. In the Chiefs’ Week 12 reunion with the Buccaneers, Hill had what has been the best game of his career. He went for 269 yards and three scores on 13 touches in the air, and no one in the Tampa Bay secondary could contain him. With the way he played in the playoffs and the fact that he torched the Buccaneers earlier this year, go ahead and grab the Over on Hill receiving yardage prop.
2. Mahomes is sacked four times
Mahomes has only been sacked four or more times in his career, but it could happen at the Super Bowl. His left tackle Eric Fisher suffered a torn Achilles in the AFC championship game and compatriot Mitchell Schwartz is already on the injured reserve due to a back injury. When Fisher left the game, Mike Remmers moved from right tackle to left and Andrew Wylie moved to right tackle, which could be a line-up the Chiefs are sticking with in Super Bowl LV.
The Buccaneers’ defensive front dominated the Packers at the line of scrimmage, and Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul combined for five sacks over Aaron Rodgers. You have to imagine that the Bucs’ defensive game plan will include pressure on Mahomes, especially now that he doesn’t have a few important offensive linemen in the lineup. Mahomes was sacked twice against the Buccaneers earlier this year, and that could double this time around.
3. Rob Gronkowski catches a touchdown pass
Gronk’s decision to come out of retirement and play with Brady in Tampa worked pretty well, right? In 16 regular season games, he caught 45 passes for 623 yards and seven touchdowns, but only caught two passes for 43 yards in three playoff games. Interestingly, Gronk recorded some high numbers of the season against the Chiefs in Week 12, as he caught six passes for 106 yards. It will be Super Bowl # 6 that Brady and Gronk played together, and the star was successful in the big game. He caught six of seven targets for 87 yards against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LII, and also recorded nine catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII. My prediction is Brady will turn to him when the Buccaneers are in the red zone and he scores a touchdown in what could be his last game in the NFL.
4. Crucial second-half turnover seals the deal
As with the Bucs and Chiefs first meeting, Super Bowl LV will be a close affair. The Chiefs probably won’t take a 17-0 lead this time around, and it will be about which team can outsmart the other in the second half, when every possession is valuable. Brady got the Packers back into the game with three second-half steals on Sunday, and the Chiefs have shown potential to resume games in the final two quarters. In Super Bowl LIV against the San Francisco 49ers, the Chiefs outscored the 49ers 21-10 after both teams scored just 10 points in the first half. I can see Brady throwing an interception in the third or fourth quarter that completely changes the momentum in favor of Kansas City.
5. Chefs rehearse as champions
It would be quite a story if Brady won the Super Bowl in his debut season with the Buccaneers, but the magical race ends here. It’s so hard to repeat as Super Bowl champions, but the Chiefs seem made to do it. The defense played very well and then the attack is practically unstoppable. We know Mahomes is special, but Hill and tight end Travis Kelce are playing some of their best football. They just became the first duo to have two games over 100 receiving yards in a single playoff! Mahomes builds on what is already an impressive career in the NFL by knocking out the “GOAT” in Super Bowl LV.
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