Super Bowl 55 preview: Chiefs, Buccaneers biggest keys to win
The Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are meeting in Super Bowl 55 for a historic matchup between all-time quarterbacks.
CBS. Sunday, Feb. 7. 48. KC -3. 14-2. 11-5. 6:30 p.m. ET. 124
Biggest mismatches for Chiefs: Kansas City will dial up pressure. The Chiefs blitzed Josh Allen consistently in the AFC Championship Game with great success, bringing corners, safeties and linebackers. They’ll do the same against Tom Brady, who ranks 30th in QBR when pressured.
Kansas City, which has allowed the second-fewest yards to receivers this year, will trust its excellent corners to hold up in man coverage while extra rushers harass Brady.
Offensively, it’s all about Patrick Mahomes. When these teams met in the regular season, Mahomes threw for 462 yards and three touchdowns posting a 91.2 QBR. Tampa Bay played single-high looks early and then changed to a two-deep shell. The Bucs will do the same this weekend, but the Chiefs are ready, and had two weeks to put in plays to shred soft zone coverage.
Biggest mismatches for Buccaneers: In the regular season, Tampa Bay ranked first in yards per carry allowed (3.6). While Kansas City’s offense checks in 11th (4.6), this isn’t a group looking to run much on Sunday.
In their Week 12 matchup, the Chiefs attempted 16 designed runs for 59 yards. In that game, Kansas City had Pro Bowl left tackle Eric Fisher, and Tampa Bay as without run-stuffing defensive tackle Vita Vea. It’ll be very tough for Andy Reid’s group to pound the ball.
Offensively, the Bucs will target Rob Gronkowski. Kansas City has allowed the third-most passing yards to tight ends this year, giving Gronk his best day of the year in their November affair (six catches, 106 yards). When Tom Brady is under any pressure, he’ll be looking for his old friend.
Stat to know: Tampa Bay blitzed on 39 percent of snaps this regular season, fifth-most in football. If the Buccaneers are going to win, they have to pressure with four and largely abandon the practice of bringing a fifth and sixth man. Mahomes has routinely destroyed the blitz since becoming a starter in 2018, and there’s little reason to think he won’t again on Super Sunday.