After securing his seventh Super Bowl victory, it’s clear that Tom Brady is the greatest of all time when it comes to quarterbacks. The “GOAT”, so to speak. While there’s no disputing his incredible athletic abilities, he didn’t win on his own.
The Bucs Defense Brought It
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense dominated the Kansas City Chiefs offense throughout most of Super Bowl LV. They kept the Chiefs star quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, under constant pressure, only allowing him to complete less than half of his pass attempts.
They also held the Chiefs to only three field goals, keeping them out of the end zone from start to finish. The Chiefs passing game simply was no match for the Bucs defense, forcing Mahomes to run for a majority of the game- something not easy as the quarterback was suffering from a painful condition called turf toe.
The Chiefs Offense Floundered
In addition to Mahomes’ injury, the Chiefs offense faced many injuries prior to the big game. Perhaps the biggest one was to their starting left tackle, Eric Fisher. Fisher sustained a torn Achilles tendon in the game against the Buffalo Bills two weeks before the Super Bowl.
The offense definitely felt the loss of Fisher, allowing the Bucs defense to get to Mahomes easily. The 25-year-old quarterback did what he could for his team, throwing nearly impossible passes, only to have many of them dropped by his receivers. The Chiefs floundering offense was no match for the Bucs powerful defense.
An Unexpected Tragedy
The entire game had a solemn undertone after an unexpected tragedy occurred just a few days before. The Chiefs linebackers coach, Britt Reid (son of the Chiefs head coach Andy Reid), was involved in a three-car accident in Kansas City on the Thursday before the Super Bowl, resulting in serious injuries for a 5-year-old passenger.
It’s no doubt that Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time. His stats cannot be disputed. However, many other factors contributed to the Buccaneers success over the Chiefs on Sunday. Their 31-9 victory was something not predicted by any of the experts, but going forward, no one should doubt Brady’s ability to win.