The Tampa Bay Buccaneers crossed the threshold and oh my, how they did, but let’s throw some respect where it ultimately belongs – on Todd Bowles’ attacking, pursuing, swashbuckling defense.
Tom Brady is going to be Tom Brady. He came to Tampa Bay and helped coach Bruce Arians transform a franchise that hadn’t clutched a playoff berth since 2007. On the biggest stage, he was 21-of-29 for 201 yards and three touchdown passes. It was an efficient but pedestrian day as he managed the offense while the Buccaneers’ defense was a behemoth for the entire game.
Here’s a novel idea for people who vote on these things and have a hard time thinking progressively. Vote the entire defense as a collective MVP.
Tampa Bay held Kansas City to 168 yards through three quarters before they played more of a read and react defense in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs gave the ball up on downs twice before a Devin White interception in the end zone put this one to sleep and allowed a Super Bowl champion to celebrate on its home field for the first time in NFL history.
“The game plan treated us well,” said safety Antoine Winfield, Jr., who finished a stellar rookie season. “The coaches put us in a great position to do our jobs and we just executed the game plan. Everybody knew going in that all we had to do was do our jobs and we should be successful. That’s what we did tonight.”
The Buccaneers marauded Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes who was without both starting tackles – left tackle Eric Fisher, who had a torn Achilles in the AFC championship win over the Buffalo Bills, and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz who was on injured-reserve with a back injury. It was a plug-and-play scenario against the attack piranhas on the Tampa Bay defense.
Mahomes had less than zero seconds on his rollouts which was a far cry from the regular season game against the Bucs when he passed for 462 yards in a 27-24 Tampa Bay win that was all Kansas City through three quarters.
Arians said that Mahomes’ November torching of the Buccaneers defense wasn’t lost on Bowles, who hopefully will now get his due as one of the best defensive tacticians and analysts of offenses in the game.
“I thought he came up with a fantastic plan just to keep them in front of us and tackle real well,” explained Arians. “Patrick wasn’t going to beat us running; we’d let him run all day. Just keep chasing him around and see if we can make some plays.”
White was a menace and if you picked one MVP, White should have been the recipient. He had 12 tackles, including two for loss. He was the heart, soul and inspiration in the game and he set the tone early with Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaq Barrett as they teed off on the ends against the Chiefs.
“We defeated Drew Brees; we defeated Aaron Rodgers; and then, like, he was the MVP and we still was underdogs,” said White. “Man, we just knew we had … we just wanted to win the Super Bowl.”
White carried the chips that were on the Bucs’ shoulders all by himself. His interception in the end zone that allowed Tampa Bay to run out the clock was at best poetic justice.
The defense made Brady’s job easier as he basically worked the running game and tight end Rob Gronkowski, to whom he threw two touchdown passes.
As you digested the game, the ball-hawks on the Bucs’ defense made this a reckoning with the Chiefs, who had a makeshift offensive line against its worst nightmare.
“How do we have only one Pro Bowler, but a team with no Pro Bowler is able to go on and win the Super Bowl?” questioned White. “Something’s not right, but that’s not what we play for. You know, we play for the bigger picture. See this trophy on this side, this side, whatever this side, the Lombardi? That’s what we play for.”