Super Bowl LV Preview and Predictions
The time has finally come. Arguably the biggest event in the sports world as millions of people gather around the television to watch the most anticipated game of the year. The Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are set to to face off against each other on Sunday, February 7th in Tampa Bay, Florida. The Bucs will be the first ever home team to host the biggest game of the year, and the Chiefs are looking to bring back to back championships home to Kansas City. Myself, along with Zac Field, writer and co-host of the ZnC Sports podcast, will be breaking down every detail that you need to know prior to the big game. Along with that we will be making our predictions for every stat line and possible score lines that could come out of this game.
Mahomes is arguably the best quarterback in the league currently and is looking to prove that in Super Bowl LV. Photo Credit: https://www.ocregister.com
Will Either Quarterback pass for over 350 yards?
Collin- Yes. I Believe Mahomes will pass for over 350 yards. During the regular season he contributed nine 300 plus passing yard games as well as two 400 plus yard games. The arguable MVP front runner will need to have a big game in order to keep up with the Bucs high powered offense, and I believe that he will show. He has many different targets in Kelce and Hill, and they should help Mahomes reach this target fairly easily. On the other side, Tom Brady recorded seven games with 300 plus passing yards. I don’t think that he will be able to accomplish this again, as Kansas City has a top 15 pass defense and will be looking to get after Brady, knowing it is harder for him to escape out of the pocket as he is now 43 years old, and after not being a mobile QB in his younger years, he is definitely not one now. The Bucs may also need to rely more on their running game as it proved to help them in the NFC championship game against the Packers after Brady threw for three interceptions. Mahomes 375 yards, Brady 280 yards.
Zac - Yes. Patrick Mahomes has been dominant all year, leading the Chiefs to the best passing offense in the NFL. The Buccaneers have the league's 9th worst pass defense and lost 2 of their starting safeties in the NFC championship game this past weekend. The Chiefs will come out of the gate firing from all cylinders. It will be very interesting to see how the Bucs defense holds against the deep shots, due to the fact that both starting safeties for the Bucs are out. The Buccaneers also have the league’s #1 rush defense, which will force the Chiefs to throw the football a lot more. More passes usually equals more yards. Combine the #1 passing offense with an injured bottom ten pass defense, and it’s looking like Patrick Mahomes will be loving life come Super Bowl Sunday. Now let's take a look at Tom Brady. The Bucs have the 2nd best pass offense in the league, trailing only the Chiefs. I do think Tom is completely capable of a 350 yard game, and might even be hovering somewhere near that 350. Being at home in Tampa will help out the Bucs. But due to the fact that the Chiefs have one of the worst rush defenses in the league, Leonard Fournette will get more touches, and much-needed chunk plays for Tampa, which means Tom won’t throw as many passes as Mahomes. Mahomes 410 yards, Brady 275 yards.
Will there be Over/Under 56 Points?
Tom Brady was able to lead the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl after not being in one since 2002. Brady has reached the Super Bowl in 10 out of 21 seasons, that percentage is higher than Steph Curry’s career three point percentage. Photo credit: https://www.usatoday.com
Collin- I believe that this will a high scoring game and more like a shoot out with each teams elite offense going at it. The Bucs have the number one rushing defense in the league so the Chiefs are going to rely on Mahomes to get their offense rolling. Each team averages just around 30 points per game, with the Chiefs defense allowing 13.7 points on average and the Bucs 34.5. Both of these defenses are going to be out played by the very talented offensive core that each team has. The Tampa Bay Patri.. I mean Bucs were able to put up 31 points against the very talented Packers defense. While Brady threw for three interceptions, he was still able to put up the points he needed to get by Green Bay. Having Leonard Fournette on the ground also is a very deadly weapon that will help the Buccaneers get more points on the board. The Chiefs passing game is arguably the best in the league as they Mahomes has targets like Kelce and Hill to throw to each game. Their running game also consists of rookie Clyde Edwards- Helaire and Le’Veon Bell that they can turn to if Mahomes is not having the best of games. That being said, I believe that this is going to be a higher scoring than most games during these playoffs, and there will be 67 total points scored.
Zac- Over. And well over 56.5. Both of these teams have amazing passing offenses (Chiefs #1, and Bucs #2), but just average defenses, paving the way for this game to be very high scoring. Both defenses will be absolutely shredded by the pass, and I could honestly see this game getting around 40-50 points scored in the first half alone. For Tampa Bay, I believe Mike Evans and Chris Godwin will have monster games. The Chiefs secondary will be scorched by those two. And for the Chiefs, I think the deep ball is going to be huge. Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill will put on a show. If you’re looking for a competitive, high scoring, entertaining game, look no further.
Who will win MVP?
At the age of 25 Mahomes has already won a league MVP, a Super Bowl MVP, two AFC championships and a Super Bowl, and he looks to add to that this year. Photo credit: https://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com
Collin- Is this even a question? I guess so, so here we go. I am going with the best player that will step onto the field on Sunday, February 7th, 20201. Patrick Mahomes is arguably the best player in the game of football right now. Last year he was able to lead his team to a Super Bowl championship and in the progress of doing so, win the leagues MVP, as well as being named the most valuable player of Super Bowl 54. He is one of the front runners to win the leagues award this year, so why can’t he repeat the triple again? I say that the man who passed for 4,740 yards, had 38 touchdowns and only threw for 6 interceptions takes this one home and adds to his already large trophy collection at the age of 25.
Zac- Patrick Mahomes. Any questions?
The Buccaneers are the first ever team to play in a Super Bowl that is in their home stadium. Photo credit: https://www.washingtonpost.com
Who takes it home?
Collin- Most everyone believes that Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are easily going to be able take this one home and win back to back championships. While I agree that they will win, I believe that it will be much closer than most people make it out to be. Mahomes is easily the most dominant threat in the NFL out of every QB. He is only 25 years old and has already led the Chiefs to three consecutive AFC championship and now two consecutive Super Bowls. I believe that he is here to stay and that the Chiefs dominant offense will not be going anywhere anytime soon. On the other side you have the Bucs, who have not been to a Super Bowl since 2002. However, they have the arguably greatest to ever do it in Tom Brady. As much as I do not like to say this, Brady once again deserves to be here as he has led a team that was 7-9 last year to the biggest game of the year. During their playoff run they have taken out elite teams such as the likes of Drew Brees and the Saints, as well as Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. I think that this game will come down to the wire and each team will have a shot to win in the final five minutes. As I said above, it will be a higher scoring game and that being said I think that the Chiefs will pull it off and win 37-30 becoming Super Bowl LV champions.
Zac- Chiefs. It doesn’t feel right to be betting against Tom Brady, however the Chiefs offense is just too explosive. Patrick Mahomes has too many options for Tampa’s hurt defense to contain. Tyreek “Cheetah“ Hill will put on a show, scorching Tampa’s secondary. Tom Brady won’t let the Bucs go down easy, but I think by the time Tampa’s offense gets rolling it will be too little too late. Super Bowl 55 has the pieces to be one of the most entertaining Super Bowls in recent history. It is going to be a close, very high scoring game, but ultimately the Chiefs ability to score at will, will be too much for Tom Brady and the Buccaneers to overcome. Chiefs 41, Bucs 32
Collin’s Keys to the Game: Chiefs
Mahomes and co. were able to defeat the Buffalo Bills in the AFC championship game by a score of 38-24. Photo credit: www.si.com
Get the ball out of Mahomes’ hands. The Chiefs offensive line has been whittled down because of injuries and it is going to be very difficult for the improvised line to hold all game against the Bucs powerful front seven. The buccaneers secondary is also questionable to contain all of their starters as safety Jordan Whitehead and Antoine Winfield Jr are currently questionable to return from injury before the big game. Kansas City should be looking to exploit this by having Mahomes get quick passes off to each of his targets as well as taking shots down field. The Chiefs running game will not be as prominent in this game with there being many injuries in the line as well as the Buccaneers having the number one rushing defense in the NFL. Bell and Edwards-Helaire are going to need to help in the short passing game as they most likely won’t be getting many carries. These two teams have already matched up once this year and Mahomes passed for a season high of 462 yards. He is going to need to do that again to keep up with Brady and the Bucs offense. The Buccaneers were able to get to Mahomes twice in their previous match-up and he was still able to have an outstanding game. With the offensive hurt however, he may be getting hit much more this season which is not something he is used to after only being sacked more than two times in four games this season. On the defensive side, they just need to get to Brady. He threw three picks against the Packers and if the Chiefs can put pressure on Brady then I am willing to bet he will make those mistakes again. It’ll be hard to stop the Bucs weapons in Chris Goodwin and Mike Evans, but the Chiefs will need to do this if they want to win this game.
Zac’s Keys to the Game: Buccaneers
Tom Brady is looking to take home his 7th ring as and win his first championship on the NFC side of the league. Photo Credit: www.cbssports.com
Win the Turnover Battle (or at least not lose). The Buccaneers won their Conference Championship Game by the skin of their teeth, despite turning the ball over 3 times; this was partly due to the fact that the Packers only scored 7 points off of those 3 turnovers. Things will definitely be different with the Chiefs. The Chiefs offense will capitalize on every turnover, and every possession, so self inflicted wounds need to be avoided. Tom Brady rarely has two bad games like that in a row, so he will come out fired up. Turnovers will play a huge role in this game, and I believe that whoever wins the turnover battle will wind up being the victor in Super Bowl 55.
So there you have it. Who do you think will go on to become world champions and and ultimately prove that they are the best team in the National Football League?