3 Chiefs who shoulder the blame for Super Bowl 55 loss to Buccaneers

The Kansas City Chiefs were expected to repeat as Super Bowl champions, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had other plans. Here are some members of the Chiefs to blame for the loss.

Prior to the start of the 2020 regular-season, many had picked the Kansas City Chiefs to make it back to the Super Bowl and win their second-consecutive Lombardi Trophy. After 18 games, the Chiefs clinched their spot in Super Bowl 55. On the other side of the field where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, led by new quarterback Tom Brady. Beating him would make the Chiefs’ victory even greater.

The problem was, the Buccaneers showed up and showed out against Kansas City, winning 31-9 in their first Super Bowl appearance since 2003. The Chiefs won’t want to rewatch the game film for this one, as it was a brutal affair with a baffling decision. But who is to blame? Here are three that come to mind.

3. Antonio Hamilton

This was when the floodgates officially opened up at the expense of the Chiefs. In the second quarter, the Buccaneers were threatening on a deep drive. Granted, plenty of that was due to the Chiefs cornerback Charvarius Ward holding receiver Mike Evans on a would-be interception by the safety Tyrann Mathieu. Kansas City would force Tampa Bay to settle for a 40-yard field goal by Ryan Succop.

The problem was, Chiefs cornerback Antonio Hamilton was called offsides, awarding the Buccaneers five yards and the first down. On the very next play, Brady hit tight end, Rob Gronkowski, in the end zone for his second touchdown of the game.

Sure, it was only one play, but it led to the downfall of the Chiefs on Super Bowl Sunday. This was the equivalent of Dee Ford being called for offsides in the 2018 AFC Championship Game, which ultimately cost Kansas City the win against Brady’s New England Patriots.

2. Andy Reid

NFL fans were cheering for Andy Reid after he won his first Lombardi Trophy last year after the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers. It made us all forget about his clock-management issues that have haunted him in years past.

Unfortunately, they returned during Super Bowl 55.

With the Buccaneers only having one timeout at their disposal with 55-seconds on the clock, they handed the ball off to Leonard Fournette for no-gain on first down. Reid called a timeout. Then with 49-seconds remaining in the first half, Brady hit wide receiver Chris Godwin for an eight-yard reception, forcing the third down and two. Reid inexplicably called another timeout!

The decision predictably blew up in Reid’s face. Afterwards, the Buccaneers picked up the first down and the Chiefs were called for two defensive pass interference penalties, setting up a Brady touchdown pass to Antonio Brown to give the Buccaneers a 21-6 lead heading into halftime. It was officially the beginning of the end for the Chiefs in Tampa.

1. Chiefs receiving corps

What can you say other than Patrick Mahomes truly gave it his all. Sure, he had a backup offensive line in front of him, which allowed 28 pressures throughout the night. But, if we want to talk about the biggest letdown for Kansas City, it has to be the receiving corps.

Mahomes was doing all he could, escaping Tampa Bay’s dominant pass rush, and he was hitting his receivers in the hands. The problem was, they weren’t catching them.

On the day, the Chiefs pass-catchers were only able to catch 26-of-46 targets throughout the game. Among the worst offenders were Darrel Williams, who caught two-of-seven targets for 10 yards and Mecole Hardman, who hauled in two passes on six targets for four yards. Besides them, there were so many opportunities where the Chiefs literally dropped the ball.

Usually, Kansas City’s receiving corps steps up when it matters most. But in Super Bowl 55, they were disappointing as a whole.