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The Guardian

Brady or Mahomes? Our predictions for the Chiefs v Buccaneers Tremendous Bowl

Will Tampa Bay grow to be the primary crew to win a championship in their very own residence stadium? Or will the reigning champions retain their title? This yr’s Tremendous Bowl options among the NFL’s prime expertise together with, clockwise from left, Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. Composite: Reuters, Getty, AP What the Chiefs must do to win … Be the Chiefs. Which will sound flippant, however no crew provides extra credit score to the ‘flip the change’ idea than this season’s Chiefs. Once they’re absolutely engaged, once they’re at their full Chiefs-ness, there’s not a lot every other crew within the league can do to cease them. There are flaws on protection, however sooner or later, Patrick Mahomes may have the ball. Even with a superb protection, Tampa may have a tough time slowing down the Mahomes-Hill-Kelce triumvirate. OC With their prime two offensive tackles probably out of this matchup, it figures to be robust sledding for the Chiefs on the sting. Search for Andy Reid to dial up loads of display screen passes to capitalize on the pace and shiftiness of his backs and receivers – Tyreek Hill’s particularly. AL Win the battle of the turnovers. Brady threw three interceptions in opposition to the Inexperienced Bay Packers, however the Packers may solely rating on one of many ensuing possessions. If the Bucs try this in opposition to KC, this recreation could possibly be over shortly. HF Remove the deep ball. Maintain two safeties on the sphere so the Bucs are compelled to run. You can not play rooster with Brady just like the Packers did – it solely ends a technique. Nicely, except the offense explodes as nicely it could. Reid will want an additional splash of trickery to flummox Tampa. That or dump it off to Hill. GS What the Bucs must do to win … Shorten the sport. The Bucs have confirmed they will swap between quite a lot of types this season. They’ll win with their distinctive protection. They’ll depend on Tom Brady to hold in a shootout. Towards the Chiefs, although it received’t be as entertaining, they must depend on the run-game to increase drives in opposition to a weak-ish Chiefs entrance as a way to include the scoreline. Get Brady to the ultimate drive with an opportunity to win the sport, that ought to be the plan. OC Sic Jason Pierre-Paul, William Gholston and Ndamukong Suh on the Chiefs’ backup tackles. Combine it up a bit on first down. (The handoffs to Leonard Fournette & Co are so predictable.) And capitalize on each alternative to attach with receivers downfield, some extent of emphasis for Bruce Arians all season. If Antonio Brown is on the lookout for a time to shine, that is it. AL Brady’s doesn’t wish to get right into a throwing contest with Mahomes at this level of his profession. His edge will lie in his expertise. He doesn’t wish to be a pure game-manager right here, he’s going to have to attach on just a few long-balls to win, but when he focuses on making the best play over making an attempt for the large play, his crew have a strong probability. HF Tampa should play to their strengths and blitz early and infrequently. They’ve the pedigree – 9 sacks and two wins in opposition to Rodgers this season – and may decelerate Mahomes by attacking an offensive line lacking each its beginning tackles. You run the danger of demise by a thousand Tyreek and Travis-shaped cuts however Todd Bowles have to be courageous to restrict Kansas Metropolis’s scoring. GS Key participant for the Chiefs … Patrick Mahomes. In fact it’s Mahomes. Going with anybody else could be a hipster alternative. The Bucs may run the right gameplan. They might play in addition to possible on either side of the ball. But if Mahomes turns up and performs at his finest, there’s nothing anybody can do to cease him. OC Aside from the plain? Let’s go along with Tyrann Mathieu, whose powers of anticipation and interruption give off main Ed Reed vibes. He, not Mahomes, is Tom Brady’s true opponent – and the Honey Badger will make the GOAT pay for all these 50-50 balls he likes to throw up a lot. Mathieu intercepted Brady on a tipped ball of their Week 12 matchup. AL Travis Kelce. We discuss Brady v Mahomes, however what about Kelce v Gronkowski? Since Gronkowski’s (momentary) retirement, Kelce has been combating to surpass him because the league’s finest tight finish ever. A Tremendous Bowl win over a diminished Gronk could be extra of a symbolic touchstone, nevertheless it wouldn’t harm his case. HF Tyrann Mathieu. We could be certain Brady goes to take dangers by the air so Mathieu’s capacity to diagnose and demolish receiver routes will have to be firing to disrupt Tampa’s passing assault. Placing Brady underneath strain to second guess whether or not Mathieu will leap a route constantly may frustrate the veteran into making expensive errors. GS Key participant for the Bucs … Todd Bowles. Not a participant, however the Bucs’ defensive coordinator. Tampa’s protection has performed at a championship stage all season. There aren’t many schematic fireworks. As a substitute, Bowles depends on a core group of performs and his gamers all taking part in on the highest attainable stage. Towards Mahomes, he’s going to want a few wrinkles or recent seems to be as a way to create a unfavourable play or two. OC Lavonte David, one of many most interesting linebackers the sport has ever seen. His capacity to shut on ballcarriers and cease and even typically reverse their momentum ought to show particularly helpful in opposition to a Chiefs expert unit adept at piling on huge yards after the catch. His sideline-to-sideline vary might be key to sustaining coordinator Todd Bowles’s bend-but-don’t-break rules. AL Leonard Fournette. Fournette was minimize by the Jaguars and got here in as Tampa Bay’s backup working again. Now he’s placing his finest work of the season within the playoffs, together with an astonishing landing run in opposition to Inexperienced Bay. One other landing or two could be good, but when he can decide up loads of yardage on first downs, it should open the playbook vast open for Brady. HF A shootout beckons regardless of the cannons falling silent at Raymond James Stadium (couldn’t the cannons have fired for the Chiefs as nicely? Why do I care a lot concerning the cannons?). The Bucs can bully the Chiefs’ protection utilizing the superior dimension and energy of Mike Evans within the redzone. The additional consideration he receives will even create holes for others to rack up factors. GS One daring prediction … The Weeknd has multiple music. I imply, critically? The Weeknd? For the Tremendous Bowl? Am I outdated now? OC Somebody’s gonna pull out a trick play. Both the Chiefs construct on the long-lasting “4 Tops” they sprang on the 49ers final yr, or Arians dials up a nervy retort. Both manner, you’ll love the soccer love language. AL How a few scoreless first quarter? After all of the discuss this being an offensive showdown, possibly either side get efficiency anxiousness proper off the gate and we see plenty of three-and-outs, some offensive miscues and even a missed area aim within the first quarter-hour. HF Tony Romo spots Invoice Belichick within the crowd carrying a Jack Sparrow masks as a disguise. Naturally, Romo can not include his pleasure and orchestrates a joyous on-field reunion after Brady lifts a Lombardi with out his one-time mentor. “That’s my boy,” Belichick will say. GS The ultimate rating might be … Chiefs 31-24 Buccaneers. The mix of Brady and Bowles is about pretty much as good as you may hope for in making an attempt to knock the Chiefs off their perch. Nobody is able to stopping the Chiefs, however all of the Bucs require is a protection that slows Mahomes-Andy Reid machine down, even for a possession or two. Tampa have the expertise and employees to have the ability to pull off such a plan. I’ve the Bucs giving Brady an opportunity on the ultimate possession however developing simply brief. The Chiefs’ offensive energy, even with all of the Bowles goodness, is simply too overwhelming. And even when performs break down, no person is healthier off-script than Mahomes. The Chiefs go back-to-back and Mahomes takes residence a second successive MVP. OC Chiefs 30-29 Buccaneers. As uncovered as Mahomes figures to be on the sting, one may simply see the Bucs protection forgetting concerning the QB’s wheels till it’s too late. Whether or not it’s by choosing up chunk yardage or shopping for time to fireside darts to Cheetah & Co, ultimately, Mahomes will take their coronary heart. AL Chiefs 34-17 Buccaneers. Search for the groups to maintain it shut for some time however by the fourth quarter, the Chiefs may have the lead and salt it manner with a kind of Mahomes bursts the place he rattles off two touchdowns within the blink of a watch. HF Chiefs 30-33 Buccaneers. I mentioned it mid-season and I’ll say it once more, Tom Brady and the Bucs will win the Tremendous Bowl. Selecting in opposition to Brady is a idiot’s errand particularly now he’s an underdog. Six titles and your crew not being favorite is testomony to how good the Chiefs are however Brady may have the final phrase within the recreation with a last-minute drive and probably on which QB is actually the best. Identical time subsequent yr, Tom. GS

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