The time has arrived. When we started this journey back in September, we had 32 teams starting out. Now, we are down to just two. All with the Vince Lombardi Trophy on the line. Its the battle of young versus old. Its the veteran and a man who's been here ten times, taking on the defending champs and MVP in this very game last year.
Lot of history in the state of Florida for this game. It marks the first time ever that a Super Bowl will have a team play in it's home stadium. it marks the 4th time ever that the game will be held in the same state in back to back years, as it was played in Miami last year. This will be the fifth Super Bowl hosted by the Tampa area and the third held at Raymond James Stadium. It was played at Raymond James in 2001 and 2009, with the other two games (1984 and 1991) being played at Tampa Stadium.
So lets see who we got and how we got here for the Big Game!
The NFC Champions the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be taking on the AFC Champions the Kansas City Chiefs.
Tampa Bay made it in as a wild card team, with an 11-5 record. They started the playoffs off with a win over Washington wild card weekend. They followed that up by beating New Orleans in the divisional round. Finally the closed out the conference by winning the NFC crown over Green Bay. The Bucs are the first wild card team since the 2010 Green Bay Packers to reach the Super Bowl. Tampa is unbeaten in Super Bowls, winning their lone title in 2002.
Kansas City is looking to become the first teams since the 2004 and 2005 New England Patriots (ironically both quarterbacked by Tom Brady) to win back to back Super Bowls. Kansas City went 14-2, earning a bye in the first round. They beat Cleveland in the divisional round and knocked off Buffalo in the AFC title game to get to this point. Kansas City is 2-1 lifetime in Super Bowls, losing in 1966 and winning in 1969 and 2020.
These two teams have never faced in the big game. They met during the regular season, a week twelve meeting, which also took place in Tampa. Kansas City won 27-24.
So how does it all break down?
Experience edge has to go to Tampa, at least at the QB position. This marks the tenth Super Bowl for Brady, and his first one outside of New England. Tampa had the 7th best offense in terms of total yards and the 3rd highest scoring team in the league during the season. They showed during this run in the playoffs that they can pretty much play any style. This team can score through the air, with the likes of Chris Goodwin, Mike Evans, Scotty Miller, Cameron Brate and possibly Antonio Brown, depending on his status. Tampa was almost as good on the other side of the ball, finishing with the 6th best defense in the NFL.
Kansas City can match in the receiving game with Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. The running game is decent with Le'Von Bell added to the mix half way through the season. Throw into the mix the running of Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and it adds another dynamic skill set to the offense. On the other side of the ball, the Kansas City defense can put pressure on the opposition. They sacked Josh Allen in the AFC title game two weeks ago.
Bottom lines comes down to who can make the bigger play at the right time, Both QB's have those moments and can make the big plays when its needed. They have the weapons to make it happen. This could be a very high scoring game. Last time we had that expectation, we got Super Bowl 53 and a 13-3 win by the Patriots over the Rams. This one is going to be different then what we got in that game. This one is going to be close, its going to be intense and its going to be very very good. At the end of the day, its the youth that wins out.
Pick: Kansas City 34, Tampa Bay 27
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