We are just over a week away from Super Bowl LV as the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs get set to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their first title appearance since the 2002 season.
Not surprisingly, and deservedly so, the build up to this game has been all about the quarterbacks as Tom Brady makes his unprecedented 10th Super Bowl appearance in search of his seventh championship and Patrick Mahomes attempts to become the first quarterback to win back-to-back since Brady during the 2003 and 2004 season. The NFL odds for the final game of the season seem to favor the latter as the Chiefs enter Super Bowl week as 3.5 point favorites despite the game being in Tampa Bay.
The Bucs and the Chiefs met earlier in the season on November 29th with Kansas City walking away as the 27-24 winner. It was the last game the Bucs lost this season. As for the quarterbacks, it will be the second playoff meeting between the two as Mahomes and Brady, then with the Patriots, squared off in the 2018 AFC Championship Game. Brady and the Patriots went on to win that game in overtime and then beat the Rams to clinched their sixth title. It remains Mahomes’ only playoff loss to date.
In 2020, both quarterbacks had MVP-worthy seasons, although that honor will likely be given to Aaron Rodgers of the Packers. Nonetheless, the matchup represents the largest age gap between starters, surpassing Brady and Goff from two years ago. Despite the age gap between the two, this could be one of the greatest “quarterback duels” of all time as both signal callers, in addition to their immense amount of skill, possess some of the best offensive weapons in the game.
Expect a lot of fireworks on February 7th in Tampa.
