Working behind a pieced together offensive line that was missing three starters from the beginning of the season, Patrick Mahomes was picked off twice, sacked three times and hurried from the pocket over 25 times as Tampa Bay swarmed the Chiefs offense in a 31-9 win in Super Bowl LV victory, denying the Chiefs a chance at a Super Bowl repeat.
Tom Brady was 21-of-29 for 201 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Rob Gronkowski to lead Tampa’s offense. Brady and Gronk have not combined on 14 post-season touchdowns, the most in NFL history, passing Joe Montana and Jerry Rice at 12.
The Chiefs were also flagged for 11 penalties in the game, including nine in the first half as the Bucs jumped out to a 21-6 halftime lead. Four times the Chiefs secondary was called for defensive holding or pass interference keeping drives alive for Brady.
The Bucs defense shadowed Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, many times double teaming Mahomes’ two favorite targets. That limited their ability to get open as Mahomes was under duress most of the night. Mahomes completed only 17 of his 26 pass attempts to Hill and Kelce while targeting them 25 times. Despite the harassment, Mahomes shrugged off trouble and scrambled still getting passes off before taking sacks. As lopsided as the final score was, twice Mahomes threaded passes to receivers that were dropped in the endzone.
The Chiefs, listed at +550 at Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill, are the favorite to win Super Bowl LVI. The Green Bay Packers are next at +900, followed by the champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers at +1,100.