They had earned the last accent, the last big exclamation mark of the Super Bowl: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive had just intercepted a pass shortly before the end of the game, then the big men lined up in front of the television cameras to cheer. Glance straight into the lens, helmets off, arm movements full of strength, chest puffed up with self-confidence – a moment in the greatest spotlight in world sport, a moment that normally so often belongs to the offensive stars.
Patrick Mahomes versus Tom Brady. Young quarterback against old quarterback, two high-power offensives, points and touchdowns en masse. That was expected and written before the Super Bowl. But the two defensive performances were decisive in this final.
Punishment after punishment after punishment, the chiefs collected
The Kansas City Defense has a nice job description in most football games. Solid to inconspicuous play, you can give away a little something, that’s usually enough if your own offensive has an average of 30 points. In the first half, however, there were too many good gifts that the chiefs put on the gift table for the Buccaneers: Penalty after penalty after penalty, the chiefs conceded and thus packed a considerable backlog. Kansas lost 95 yards of space in half one alone, a record in a Super Bowl. And some of those flags (referees throw them on the field to indicate a penalty) were really expensive.
Example one: Actually, Chiefs-Safety tyrant Mathieu had already intercepted Brady’s forged passport. When the score was 3: 7 in the second quarter, the Chiefs would have received the ball for their own attack attempt. Then the referees whistled back Mathieu: They had seen an unauthorized stop by Chiefs defender Charvarius Ward. A petty rule interpretation.
Example two, following the withdrawn interception: Tampa Bay scores a field goal for three points. Chiefs cornerback Anthony Hamilton is illegally a bit further ahead than his teammates, his slippers protrude into the neutral zone. This is a new attempt for Tampa Bay, which provides the touchdown to 14: 3.
Example three: seconds before halftime whistle. Again Mathieu is in the spotlight. When attempting a pass into the end zone, the referees whistle a pass obstruction, Mathieu is said to have clung to recipient Mike Evans too much. The problem: Brady’s passport would probably never have reached Evans, actually a prerequisite for such a penalty. Another attempt for Brady, who turns it into a touchdown to 21: 3. Afterwards, Mathieu goes face-to-face with the quarterback, presumably for a direct technical discussion on questions of the rules.
The Buccaneers won’t let the Chiefs touchdown a single time
The Chiefs diligently dug the deep hole themselves. But that there was no way out was ensured by the Tampa Bay defense, which ultimately decided the Super Bowl. Actually, the rule of thumb has been in effect for years: You can only slow down the offensive machine in Kansas City, you can never stop it completely. No matter which strategy is chosen, you always have to die any kind of death against the offensive trio Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. Do not hit you with deep passes, you can gain space in the short passing game or with runs.
At the most important moment, the Buccaneers did what no other defense had done this season: They did not allow the Chiefs to touchdown a single. Rather, they choked off the offensive game of Kansas City over long stretches in a concentrated manner. The key to this: careful cover with blocked deep pass routes that gave Mahomes little room for maneuver. More importantly, however, was the pressure the defensive line put on the young quarterback, especially the men in the front line. A hand on the neck and then the kick between the legs.
A game against the trend
The two Buccaneers defenders Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaq Barrett played catch with Mahomes over and over again. He was able to knock himself out a few times despite a cracked big toe, but in the end it was too much pressure and too little time for the playmaker to create enough opportunities.
The reason for this was the horrific performance of his offense line. Since the Chiefs went into the final with a core group of mostly substitute players due to some injuries, problems for Mahome’s bodyguards were to be expected. That it got so terrible also surprised the experts on social media. Football podcaster Christoph Kröger gave the broadcast the stamp of the protection of minors: “This offense line is spanked in such a way that it is actually not allowed to broadcast like that. FSK18.” And US analyst Aaron Schatz put it in a nutshell: “The Front Four of Tampa Bay wins this game.”
A game that is primarily decided on the defensive does not follow the current NFL trend and therefore allows few conclusions for the future. It was the weakest game of the Kansas City offensive since the beginning of the Patrick Mahomes era, an outlier. Just stupid it came at the worst possible time. The Chiefs will again go into the NFL season as favorites next year, teams will continue to invest more resources on the offensive. But the moment in the limelight, the 15 seconds all to yourself, will remain the Buccaneers defense forever.
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