Super Bowl 2021: Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes face off – preview

It’s a fitting finale for the most unique of NFL seasons and the hit game everyone wanted to see, as the widely recognized greatest of all time, Tom Brady faces arguably the greatest talent of his time. generation in Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl 55.

But will Brady or Mahomes party at the end? Who else could influence the game? And how are the coaches going to try to outsmart each other?

The GOAT versus the Baby GOAT?

Brady, 43, has stepped back the years in his first season at the Bucs to bring them to their second Super Bowl and what will be an incredible 10th appearance personally.

A six-time winner with the New England Patriots, Brady plans to play until he is at least 45, which seems very likely given he has looked his best this season, with his 4,633 passing yards, the fifth most of his career and most importantly the 34 passing 20 yards or more the most he’s ever thrown – showing his arm is stronger than ever.

As Brady contemplates a seventh Super Bowl ring, Mahomes is looking for his second and make the Chiefs the first team to defend their Super Bowl title since Brady himself with the Patriots 17 years ago.

There is the biggest age gap between quarterbacks (18 years and 45 days) in Super Bowl history and in terms of styles, they are opposite.

Mahomes is a dazzling mover, a creative passer capable of blind throwing and handgun hitting, while Brady is the cerebral pocket passer who studies line defenses and decides where to attack before the ball even hits. falls into his hands.

What binds these two modern greats together, even at opposite ends of their careers, is their simple desire to win that stretches off the pitch and into every everyday training session throughout the season.

Brady has always put victory before ego, passing numbers, and even sometimes the zeros on his contract, and Mahomes aims to emulate Brady in that as much as his unfathomable success, to join the true elite of American sports.

“If you look at guys like Tom, Michael (Jordan), Kobe (Bryant), LeBron (James), A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez), all those special guys, at the end of the day you see their work ethic and their winning drive is just different than everyone else’s, ”said Mahomes.

“That’s what makes them special, and I hope I can try to do whatever I can to have the same work ethic and motivation in my career.”

A Super Bowl like no other

Coronavirus restrictions have taken some of the hustle and bustle of what may have been the hottest Super Bowl of all time – Mahomes vs. Brady, with the Buccaneers being the first team to play in a home Super Bowl , but it’s low-key aside for obvious reasons.

The regular media free-for-all was done politely via videoconferencing, with the mute buttons a welcome addition for some, while the Chiefs stayed in Kansas City all week and arrived on weekends. Whether this calms the nerves and helps them treat it like normal play remains to be seen.

The NFL has limited attendance to 22,000 fans inside Raymond James Stadium, including 7,500 vaccinated healthcare workers who were invited in as a gesture of gratitude for their work during the pandemic. Traditional Super Bowl parties and fan gatherings around town have also been scratched or restricted as a precaution.

A highly anticipated halftime show will feature The Weeknd, who insisted there would be no surprise guests and said the stage for his performance was built “in the stadium” For safety reasons.

History will also be on the sidelines as Sarah Thomas becomes the first female officer in the Super Bowl.

Strengths and weaknesses

Most pundits expect an exciting shootout, with Mahomes shining with his unorthodox throws and off-script running ability.

Around him he’s got quick receivers everywhere, and arguably the fastest in Tyreek Hill, who scored three touchdowns when the teams met earlier in the season.

Travis Kelce, who had his own prime-time TV dating show, is a prime-time player setting records as he goes, while Tyrann Mathieu (known as Honey Badger) is their game creator that often appears everywhere.

The big problem for the Chiefs comes from their offensive line – the big men tasked with protecting Mahomes – as injuries mean they’ve had to overhaul. With Tampa Bay’s Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul haranguing Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers all night in the Championship game two weeks ago, Mahomes will see plenty of those two close-ups on Sunday.

For the Buccaneers, Brady probably has the best set of offensive options he has had in his entire career, with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Cameron Brate the best pass catchers, and excellent tight end Rob Gronkowski.

The Chiefs have won 27-24 this season, with Mahomes spreading out his defense, so look for Tampa Bay to try and run the ball as often as possible with Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones. Brady’s greatest strength is thinking on his feet, taking what opposing teams give him and judging what it will take to win.

Jack Nicklaus used to figure out what score he would need to win and play a major, Brady has proven over the years that he has a similar sense of how to do the job.

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The men in charge

Chiefs boss Andry Reid and Bucs head coach Bruce Arians are the oldest combination of head coaches in Super Bowl history, with the 68-year-old Arians being the oldest coach to debut in Super Bowl history. the big game and maybe the oldest winner.

The Arians and Reid, 62, are risk takers, they enjoy playing a fast-paced and thrilling game, with the Arians ‘no risk, no cookie’ mantra reflected in its play appeal. of his retirement to lead the Bucs and perhaps his best move has been largely allowing Brady to play his own game – even calling his own games at times.

“ Big Red ” Reid has built a dynamic, creative and innovative attack under Mahomes, and he’s also not afraid to go for the jugular as he showed in the play-offs.

It’s his 22nd season as a head coach and his third Super Bowl appearance as he seeks a second victory. He’s also one of the most successful and likeable in the league – despite the arrival of the new breed, he continues to lead the way in terms of offensive creativity.

The two coaches are also leading calls for more diversity in the NFL coaching ranks, with the Arians making up the most diverse staff in the league. Tampa Bay is the only team to have black coaches in all four senior coordinator positions and also the only team to have two full-time coaches.