Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs dominated by the Buccaneers defense at Super Bowl 55; how tampa bay did it

Patrick Mahomes had lost only one of his last 26 games as the Chiefs’ starting quarterback before Super Bowl 55. In his three seasons at the helm, he had never experienced more than a loss of ‘possession, made an attack without a touchdown or saw his team score fewer double-digit points.

It all came to a screeching halt when Kansas City was routed by Tampa Bay 31-9 on Sunday. The Chiefs were denied a chance to repeat as Super Bowl champions, and Mahomes failed to secure his second straight ring at 25. He was shocked in his worst game as a professional and in what will remain one of the most legendary teams. defensive performances in NFL history, up there with the 1985 Bears, 2000 Ravens and 2002 Buccaneers.

What the 2020 Buccaneers did to shake up Mahomes in Super Bowl 55 would make Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and the all-new Hall of Famer John Lynch proud. The Chiefs were kept out of the end zone as Mahomes was sacked three times and squeezed a Super Bowl record 29 times on an uncomfortable and ineffective night (26 of 49 passes, 270 yards , zero hit, two INT). His 5.2 yards per attempt set a low in the NFL and his 69.3 passer rating was his second lowest mark in a single game.

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“They were the best team today. They beat us pretty well. It’s the worst I’ve been beaten in a long time,” Mahomes said.

The Chiefs’ 350 yards of total offense were empty, and they were further diminished by the offense going 3 of 13 on the third down and 0 for 3 in the red zone. The Chiefs rushed for 107 yards in just 17 attempts against the Bucs No.1 defense, but a good chunk of that yard came on desperate shoves from Mahomes and two bursts on a single practice by rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire .

It wasn’t just slowing down Mahomes and the Chiefs’ attack. It was a total beat, on every level. The Bucs’ defense had built in that direction with strong performances against the Drew Brees Saints in the divisional playoffs and the Aaron Rodgers Packers in the NFC Championship game. They saved the best for last against the biggest challenge from the leaders of Mahomes.

So how did the Buccaneers achieve what each team failed to do against Mahomes in all of their NFL games? They simply won their battles against everyone around Mahomes and kept their foot on the accelerator with speed, quickness, and power, doing what the bosses attack tends to do to their opponents.

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The Buccaneers came in with a major personal advantage: point passing throwers Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul working on backup offensive tackles from Chiefs Andrew Wylie and Mike Remmers. They exploited this mismatch, with Barrett getting another sack and Pierre-Paul disrupting other plays including a batted ball.

After seeing his team quit Rodgers four times, defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, one of the NFL’s most frequent blitz callers (39% in the regular season), turned the tide for a second straight game. He only sent more than four rushers after Mahomes five times. Barrett and JPP won as expected, but as a massive bonus defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh helped by going back in time, going like Sapp with inside pressure to represent half of Mahomes’ sacks.

Blazing-fast second-year linebacker Devin White had another massive game covering and sidelining to make tackles. Old Lavonte David was there with him. With the Bucs settling into the coverage zone like they did against Rodgers, the two looked like Brooks making big plays in the old “Tampa 2”.

Mahomes couldn’t hold the ball for long with the constant heat, and when he got it out quickly on short to intermediate routes, the Bucs swarmed the ball with a healthy tackle to limit damage from wide receiver Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. after capture. . When it wasn’t White or David who owned the midfield, it was rookie security Antoine Winfield Jr., who channeled Lynch and joined White in the interception fun.

With all the hard work the top seven were doing, and all the help Winfield provided, the talented but sometimes unruly corner-backs Carlton Davis, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Jamel Dean didn’t need to last long on cover or in front. no real problem downstream knowing that they were not the last – or the only – line of defense. Mahomes’ best throws came when he was on the run, looking to buy time, but the Buccaneers secondary remained disciplined on Sunday and never gave up fighting on such plays.

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Another factor: The Chiefs’ lack of a consistent third receiving option behind Hill and Kelce eventually caught up with them. Hill saw doubles and triples, a natural correction after mostly destroying Davis one-on-one in Week 12 for 13 catches, 269 yards and three touchdowns. Hill couldn’t make enough contested catches on Sunday and was held to seven receptions for 73 yards in the rematch. He was even followed on shorter routes that started in the backfield. Other than Kelce, who also had key drops, catching 10 passes for 133 yards, there was no reliable exit for Mahomes.

“They took our deep stuff, they took our sidelines. They did a good job of rallying football and tackling,” said Mahomes of how the Bucs left the Chiefs’ offense baffled. . “They executed at a higher defensive level. They had a good game plan. We weren’t able to make any adjustments and find our way into the end zone.”

There was no elaborate schematic or rocket science from Bowles. Its best defensive players whipped up the Chiefs ‘makeshift offensive line, and the rest of the defense worked in unison to contain the Chiefs’ best offensive players. The numbers game was in favor of the Buccaneers; they were able to remove seven and focus on just two threats.

If the Buccaneers hadn’t tried so hard to blitz – and burned themselves so badly – against the Chiefs in Game 1, maybe their mastery of Mahomes wouldn’t happen. If the plan of less blitzing and playing more area coverage hadn’t worked so well against Rodgers, it might not have been deployed so well against Mahomes. If tough tackles Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz had protected Mahomes’ edges unassisted rather than Remmers and Wylie, it might have been a different story.

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But it all matched up for Tampa Bay’s strengths versus Chiefs’ weaknesses. The Buccaneers’ offense provided a big help as they built a big first-half lead and put Mahomes and the Chiefs in predictable passing situations that took the deep ball out of the arsenal and squeezed the court further. passing game. The deficit also forced Reid and coordinator Eric Bieniemy to be more predictable and less creative in their game.

When laying out the Buccaneers plan for an upheaval before Super Bowl 55, winning the third down and pressuring Mahomes for turnovers were two crucial things. What was not planned was how they would win almost any clash anywhere on the pitch.

When they watch the game’s movie, Mahomes and the Chiefs won’t be the most frustrated with what they weren’t able to do, but rather with the fact that, physically and mentally, the Bucs just outperformed them, led by frontline talent and foundational coaching.