The Kansas City Chiefs had a lot going on before the game was even played.
For starters, the Chiefs were without some key starters such as linebacker Willie Gay, and offensive tackles Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz due to injuries. This is a big blow for Patrick Mahomes as he is battling a toe issue and now has to go up against an elite Buccaneers front-7 without the Chiefs two best lineman.
Another issue was the Chiefs had a COVID scare, as the team’s barber tested positive for COVID. More than twenty players were in line waiting for a haircut. The team handled this well as they stopped the barber mid-haircut and left the building. Chiefs center Daniel Kilgore was left with half his hair cut, but that is better than having the haircut finished and potentially getting COVID as well. Luckily, nobody on the Chiefs tested positive besides the team barber.
Just when you thought it could not get any worse, Britt Reid the outside linebackers coach, and son of head coach Andy Reid was involved in a multi-vehicle crash on February 4th. This crash injured two children, leaving a five year-old girl in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. Reid had alcohol in his system as he was driving and police said they smelled alcohol when reporting to the scene. Reid had injuries as well but none were life-threatening. Obviously this a huge distraction for the team and for Andy as he worried about the girl and her family as well as his son just days before the Super Bowl. This is not Reid’s first time getting in trouble with the law as in 2007 he pleaded guilty to gun and drug charges.
Chiefs Pros: In my opinion, there were only maybe five players that played well for the Chiefs. Those are, Patrick Mahomes, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Travis Kelce, Frank Clark, and Harrison Butker. Patrick Mahomes kept the Chiefs in the game and at least gave them a fighting chance. He threw for 270 yards while dealing with what was later diagnosed as a torn plantar plate on is foot. Clyde Edwards-Helaire did not get many carries due to the score but when he did, he was effective. Travis Kelce had a good game as he had 133 receiving yards including some tough catches. On the defensive end, Frank Clark had four total tackles and a sack. Harrison Butker was 3/3 including an impressive 52-yard field goal.
Chiefs Cons: There were many cons for this Chiefs team. However, one of the most notable ones was Mahomes had no time in the pocket. He was pressured 29 times in that game and the Bucs only sent extra rushers on two of those plays. Mahomes also was sacked three times. However, for the Chiefs the most pathetic statistic is Mahomes ran for 497 yards just avoiding players. Tyreek Hill struggled as the Bucs neutralized him by stacking safeties deep not allowing any big plays. There were a lot of dropped passes including the picture below where Mahomes somehow makes this unbelievable thirty yard pass to Darrel Williams that was dropped and would have been a touchdown. The two interceptions Mahomes threw were both tipped. Although, Devin White made a great play on the second interception in garbage time. The Chiefs had a difficult time stopping Rob Gronkowski as he had two touchdowns. The Chiefs ultimately played against themselves as they got 11 penalties for 120 yards. It is nearly impossible to win a game when you accumulate 120 penalty yards, your quarterback is running for his life due to no protection, and the offense had a lot of drops.
Buccaneers Pros: There are so many pros for the Bucs in this game I don’t even know where to start. Tom Brady once again proves why he deserves to be here and why he is the greatest of all-time as he earned his seventh ring and threw for 201 yards with three touchdowns. Leonard Fournette had over 100 all-purpose yards and a rushing touchdown. Gronk had two touchdowns, as I mentioned earlier. Todd Bowles deserves a lot of credit for neutralizing the best quarterback in the league and one of the most explosive offenses in the league holding them to 9 points and no touchdowns. Antoine Winfield Jr., and everyone on the Buccaneers front-7 had a great game.
Buccaneers Cons: Honestly, there was not many cons or any flaws with the Buccaneers game. However, I am surprised Chris Godwin and Mike Evans were not involved in the offense more as Godwin had two receptions for nine yards and Mike Evans only had one reception. It will be interesting to see if Tampa Bay will bring back Chris Godwin even though he is a restricted free agent.
Refs: Now I’ve been seeing on social media a lot of people complaining about the referees and some of the calls they have been making. I know a lot of people were complaining because they are anti-Brady and felt the game was called one-sided. However, most of those calls were fair and the right call. Tyrann Mathieu committed a lot of penalties that game and was frustrated. The only two mistakes in my opinion was the Pass Interference call in the endzone as I felt the ball was not catchable. There should have been a penalty on the Buccaneers after taking off their helmets after the interception. Also, it is not like the penalties called costs the Chiefs the game. The Chiefs were simply outplayed.
Brian's World of Sports 