Tom Brady silenced all the doubters on Sunday night by proving he’s still the best quarterback in the league, even at 43 years old. Brady threw for 201 yards and 3 touchdowns, as he collected his fifth Super Bowl MVP award and his seventh ring as Tampa Bay beat Kansas City, 31-9.
The game itself wasn’t the game that most people anticipated. Nobody expected the Bucs defense to completely stifle Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense. Many expected a higher scoring game, with the quarterback who had the ball last to lead their respective team on a game-winning drive to win a title. Instead, we saw a Chiefs offense that looked completely lost out there against a Bucs defense that had been shaky at times this season. The difference in the game was simple. Tom Brady was pressured on only 4 of 30 dropbacks, while Mahomes was pressured on 29 of 56 dropbacks. Brady was throwing out of a clean pocket all night, while Mahomes was running for his life all night. A big reason why Mahomes wasn’t able to throw from a clean pocket was because the Chiefs were missing much of their starting offensive line in the game on Sunday night. Right tackle Mitchell Schwartz has been out since Week 7 with a back injury and left tackle Eric Fisher tore his achilles in the AFC Championship Game. Kansas City was also without both of their starting guards, as left guard Kelechi Osmele tore both of his tendons in his knees in Week 5 and right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif opted out of the season to serve as a doctor in Canada during the pandemic. Only starting center Austin Reiter started the game in the same position he played in during the season opener. Mike Remmers, who spent most of the year at right tackle, shifted over to left tackle for the game. Andrew Wylie filled at right tackle, who spent most of the year at right guard. Tampa Bay dominated up front all night long, keeping Mahomes running for his life and also sacking him three times.
As for the offensive side of the ball for Tampa Bay, tight end Rob Gronkowski hauled in two touchdowns, while wide receiver Antonio Brown also hauled in one of his own. Tampa Bay got a lot of help from the Chiefs defense, as most of their 120 penalty yards came from either defensive holding penalties or pass interference penalties. Tom Brady once again proved that he should never be doubted, even when time is against him.
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