Super Bowl LV – One Week Away

Posted on by

We are exactly seven days away from having crowned a new world champion in the NFL and this is when the hype begins to ramp up in the excitement of the big game.

Media week is always one of the more light-hearted, easy-going weeks of the year for the NFL, its fans, and the players participating. One of the greatest parts about this specific Super Bowl, in particular, is the number of storylines heading in and the kind of quality media bites we have the potential to get.

Brady vs Mahomes is so good, it’s actually almost too good for media week. Brady is known to be quite laid back in advance of his Super Bowl’s, fielding questions from almost anybody asking. With virtual media week set to kick off on Monday, be sure to pay close attention to some of the lead-up to this game as I am positive there will be some good stuff to keep an eye on.

As for the game itself, we were lucky enough to be given a matchup that we saw previously in the regular season. In week 12, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buccaneers by a score of 27-24, with KC coming out hot and taking an early stranglehold on the game.

If there is one thing we know though about this year’s Tampa Bay Buccs squad, is that they were and still are a work in progress. Tom Brady is different in that exact way in comparison to other leaders around the league, he is consistent in gathering his troops and regrouping, learning from the past whether they win or lose.

We saw this on display in the NFC title game versus Green Bay, a game that was expected to favour the Packers within the cold conditions, as well as having already demolished the GB in week 6, the revenge factor was heavily talked about in the leadup.

Brady made sure that his team wouldn’t go down without a fight. Taking down fields shots all game whether it was first down or the final heave of the first half, and it miraculously worked in his favour. This is the type of attitude and gameplay I expect to see from Tampa in Super Bowl 55, a never say die mindset and the willingness to take shots, hopefully resulting in offence against a strong Chiefs secondary.

 

For KC, I’m not too sure it is possible to find a group more calm, cool and collected ahead of the biggest game on Earth. This team is made for adversity, the way they carry themselves on and off the field shows everyone why they are consistently going to be in this position on a yearly basis.

Heading to Raymond James Stadium to face Tom Brady on his home field, in the Super Bowl?!

That is the Football equivalent of Prince Charming storming the castle, it will be so cinematic that those true football junkies will watch this game in aw of every single snap, I can hardly wait.

For Patrick Mahomes, it is hard to ignore what he has been able to do in this season following his first Super Bowl ring. Had it not been for the Chiefs somewhat ‘packing it in’ for the final 5 weeks or so, Mahomes may be in the conversation for MVP with Aaron Rodgers.

4700 + yards, 38 touchdown passes to only 6 interceptions, also adding 308 rushing yards and 2 scores on the ground. It was a lethal campaign for the NFL’s shiniest star and he will look to continue his unmatched success in his second Super Bowl start.

How the Buccaneers can win this football game:

Tampa Bay will need to be close to, if not absolutely perfect in order to capture the franchises second Super Bowl title. The key to success in the Buccaneers game is being able to utilize their stellar passing ability, whether long or short, eating up clock and picking up first downs, while keeping the potent KC offence on the sidelines.

A heavy dosage of Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones will also be detrimental for the Buccaneers. Fournette appeared to be back to his old college self against the Packers, running with weight and making tacklers miss. Preventing TB from running the ball will be Kansas City’s number 1 priority I would have to assume, as the things it does in allowing Brady to throw through play action and quick screens are hard to keep in check.

On defence, they just need to hold their own. The Buccs Defensive personnel truly is amazing, they have had what I consider to be top personnel in the league, it just took time in coming together and figuring out how to utilize it.

Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles will have to find a way to get to Mahomes if they want any chance at getting stops. The Chiefs are entering Super Bowl week hammered by injuries to their offensive line, it will be interesting to see what they end up rolling out. For TB, that is an area the game can be won, at the line of the scrimmage a through their highly skilled defensive front four.

How the Chiefs can win this football game:

The Kansas City Chiefs are a lot different than most teams when it comes to how they can win games because quite frankly they can win them in any way possible. They will come back down 20 points, beat you in the first quarter alone, or go punch for punch and score for score with the best of them.

In this Super Bowl specifically though, falling behind to Tom Brady is NOT what they will be trying to do, this isn’t Jimmy Garropolo.

The Chiefs will need a high rate of success on early downs. The running back trio of Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Darrel Williams and Le’Veon Bell have to take charge early behind a shaky o-line.

On third down, don’t expect long developing plays to be in KC’s gameplan, as the shaky offensive line and lack of experience among them will play a big role on how Head Coach Andy Reid draws up his offence.

For KC, this game is there for the taking if they play with their hearts and not their heads. On the road, emotions will be very high and communication will most definitely be limited. Their defence is full of bulldogs in Tyrann Mathieu and Frank Clark, two players that will be heavily relied upon to keep the defence united and make big plays along the way.

How it should go:

Depending on how the game plays out, I can see whoever is running the ball better be the team to have a slight advantage. For two teams with deadly downfield passing attacks, it will be in the trenches where this game is going to be controlled.

If Kansas City finds themselves starting slow on offence again, it won’t go the same way it did last season against the 49ers. Tom Brady knows how to protect his leads and I highly anticipate he learned from his multiple INT second half at Lambeau.

One thing is for sure, this week is going to be exciting and hilarious at the same time. The way the players every year make it seem like the opposite of a big deal is always such quality entertainment, stay tuned for full coverage of Super Bowl 55 this week on Evolution.

Evan Power, Evolution 107.9

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *