TAMPA, Florida (AP) – Tom Brady made the Buccaneers, their fans and their city believe it from the moment he arrived in Tampa Bay.
With the help of old friend Rob Gronkowski and a fierce defense, Brady and the Buccaneers are Super Bowl champions.
Brady gave two touchdown passes to Gronkowski and one to good friend Antonio Brown, and the Buccaneers defeated Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City 31-9 on their Super Bowl 55 field on Sunday.
“You get here and you want to do the job and we can do it,” said Brady. “We just believe. I am so proud of the guys. “
Despite moving south for a new team and conference during a pandemic, Brady did not slow down at 43.
GOAT won its fifth Super Bowl MVP award and extended his record for Super Bowl titles in his 10th appearance, nine with New England. Brady broke his own brand of older player to win the Super Bowl and joined Hall of Famer Peyton Manning as the only quarterback to win one with multiple franchises.
“I think they are all special,” said Brady. “I am not making comparisons. Experiencing this with this group of guys is incredible. “
Surprisingly, it was easier than any of his previous Super Bowl wins, which had an average margin of five points. Mahomes lost by double digits for the first time in his four-year career.
The Buccaneers (15-5) won their second NFL title and their first in 18 years as the first team to play the big game at home, ending an unusual and challenging season played by the new coronavirus. They won three street games as a wild card to reach the Super Bowl and joined the NHL Lightning as the champion of the 2020 season. The Rays also went to the World Series, but lost to the Dodgers.
Mahomes and the Chiefs (16-3) failed to become the first repeat champion since Brady’s Patriots in 2003-04.
“I didn’t expect anything,” said Chiefs coach Andy Reid. “I thought we were going to come in and play against these guys the same way we play against teams, and that’s not how it happened. I give them credit for that. “
The NFL completed its 269 game season on time, without any cancellation, a remarkable achievement that required nearly 1 million COVID-19 tests for players and teams.
Due to the virus, only 25,000 fans wearing masks attended, including approximately 7,500 vaccinated health workers who received free NFL tickets. About 30,000 cardboard cutouts made the stadium look full.
A streaker wearing a hot pink jumpsuit escaped security and slid into the end zone with 5:03 to go. Kansas City’s powerful attack never went so far against Tampa’s fierce defense.
“I obviously didn’t play the way I wanted to,” said Mahomes. “What else can you say? All you can do is leave everything you have on the field. I feel like the guys did it. … They beat us really well, the worst I’ve been beaten in a long time . ”
Bruce Arians became the oldest trainer at the age of 68 to win the Super Bowl. His mother, Kay Arians, 95, testified personally. Brady, Gronk and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles helped the Aryans win the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
“This really belongs to the coaching staff and our players. I didn’t do a fucking thing, ”said Arians after receiving the trophy.
Bowles devised a masterful plan to thwart Mahomes and take down the Chiefs, the complete opposite of Kansas City’s 27-24 victory in Tampa in Week 12, when the Chiefs jumped to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter. Tyreek Hill had 269 receiving yards and three TDs on that. He was detained at 73 yards at seven receptions on Sunday.
“Coach Bowles is a mentor,” said Bucs cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting.
After the Chiefs took a 3-0 lead at the start, it was all Brady and the Bucs.
Brady took first place in his career with an 8-yard TD pass to Gronkowski by a 7-3 lead with 37 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Brady’s nine Super Bowl teams in New England produced just three points in total in the first quarter. Gronkowski, who came out of retirement to play with his friend, took his 13th and 14th post-season TDs from Brady. They were tied at 12 with Jerry Rice and Joe Montana.
“Coming here and being Super Bowl champions, it’s surreal, man,” said Gronkowski, who came out of retirement to play with Brady. “We have so many superstars on this team, but no one’s head was too big. Whoever has the ball stays with the ball. That’s what is so great about being on this team. There was no one who was selfish on this team. Nobody is selfish in the organization. It just happened to be me this time getting the touchdown passes. “
Despite playing at home, the Buccaneers were not allowed to fire cannons from their famous pirate ship after touchdowns and long strokes. They did this shortly after the clock expired, when red, white and black confetti fell on the field.
Fans still liked the loud noise of Gronk after his first score.
Tampa lost the opportunity to increase the advantage when Brady’s 2-yard pass to striker Joe Haeg was knocked out of his hands in the end zone. Ronald Jones was interrupted in consecutive races while the Aryans followed his “No risk, no cookie” philosophy and fell in fourth place.
But the Chiefs did not gain momentum with the stop. Instead, they made one costly mistake after another.
First, the tight end All-Pro Travis Kelce made a pass that would have been a big gain on the third down. Then, bettor Tommy Townsend hit a 29-yard ball after a penalty forced him to kick again. Bucs started at 38, instead of Kansas City’s 27.
A call waiting on the cornerback Charvarius Ward denied an interception by safety All-Pro Tyrann Mathieu. Kansas City’s defense held up, but an offside penalty during Ryan Succop’s field goal gave the Buccaneers a first down. Sarah Thomas, the first official woman in a Super Bowl, threw the flag.
Brady fired an attack on Gronkowski for a 17-yard TD and a 14-3 lead. Gronk hesitated before hitting the ball, hoping to make sure that another flag in the play was against the sloppy Chiefs.
Mahomes directed the attack to a 34-yard field goal from Harrison Butker that narrowed to 14-6, but the Kansas City defense collapsed in the final minute of the first half – allowing 42 yards in two interference passing penalties. One against Mathieu in the end zone set Brady’s TD pass to Brown for a 21-6 lead in the break.
It was Brady who convinced his new team to give Brown a chance after the troubled ex-All-Pro came out of suspension. His TD move for Brown was the 50th of the season, including 10 in the postseason.
Mathieu suffered an unsportsmanlike penalty after the TD pass for entering Brady while he ran to the touchline.
Leonard Fournette, as Brown an addition to the season, ran 27 untouched yards to extend Tampa’s lead to 28-9. Arians raised his fist after the score and pointed to offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, who made the call.
Succop’s 52-yard field goal increased the lead to 31-9.
Last year, Mahomes recovered the Chiefs from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter against San Francisco and earned MVP honors by leading Kansas City to their first NFL championship in half a century. But Tampa’s quick pass didn’t give him a chance at this.
Shaq Barrett had one of three sacks in Mahomes, who spent most of the game trying to escape from Jason Pierre-Paul, William Gholston and an unforgiving group.
“There was nothing to stop us from winning this game,” said Barrett. “I knew we were going to keep the pressure high. Coach Bowles had a great game plan. We had the guys there to make it work and we made it work, baby. “
After 20 seasons in New England, Brady signed a $ 50 million two-year deal with Tampa in March. The Buccaneers haven’t made it to the playoffs since 2007 and haven’t won a post-season game since the 2002 title season.
There were many fans dressed in red from the Chiefs doing the ax stroke for part of the first half, until the Bucs defeated him. Then there were the city fans shouting “Let’s Go Bucs”.
Before the start of the game, award-winning poet Amanda Gorman, 22, recited a poem honoring three people chosen as honorary captains of the game and all teachers, veteran military personnel and frontline health professionals.
Brady avenged his defeat against the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, who held the same position for the Giants when New York stifled the Patriots in the 2008 Super Bowl, preventing the perfect New England season.
The warmer weather suited Brady perfectly. He overtook Michael Jordan in championships and it doesn’t look like he is ready to slow down. He already said that he can play after 45 years.
“I’m coming back,” said Brady with a smile.
There was never any doubt that he will go to eighth place next season.
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