5 reasons why the Buccaneers can beat the Chiefs in Super Bowl 55

GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - JANUARY 24: Head coach Bruce Arians of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates with his team team after their 31 to 26 win over the Green Bay Packers during the NFC Championship game at Lambeau Field on January 24, 2021 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

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GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN – JANUARY 24: Ryan Succop #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicks during warm ups prior to their NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on January 24, 2021 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

The last wild card team to win a Super Bowl were the 2010 Packers.

It’s the franchise’s second appearance in the “Big Game” and the first since the team won it all in 2002 over the then-Oakland Raiders. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won three straight road playoff games to reach Super Bowl LV and now become the first franchise to play this game in its own stadium.

The opposition is the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. The clubs met earlier this year and a 27-24 home setback in Week 12 proved to be the last game Bruce Arians’ team would lose in 2020. The Bucs are riding a seven-game winning streak. So can the team pull off the slight upset? Here’s how it could happen.

5. Win the special teams battle

On occasion, we have seen the Chiefs have their issues when it comes to this facet of the game. Those issues almost proved costly in last year’s divisional playoff clash with the Texans. Andy Reid’s team had a blocked punt returned for a score and a muffed punt by Tyreek Hill set up another Houston touchdown. When it was all said and done, Kansas City was able to overcome those mistakes.

In this year’s win over the Bills in the AFC title game, Mecole Hardman muffed a punt in the first quarter and that set up Buffalo’s first touchdown. Again, the Chiefs were able to overcome and eventually came away with a 38-24 win.

Imagine the irony. Buccaneers’ kicker Ryan Succop was the final pick in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Chiefs. This season, he’s been solid for Bruce Arians’ team and in the postseason, has hit on all right field goal attempts, 8-of-9 on PATs and leads the league with 32 postseason points. This is an area where the Bucs could take advantage of a Kansas City team that has been a little erratic in this area.

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