Tom Brady secured his seventh Super Bowl ring, extending his record, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers blew out the defending-champion Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl LV on home soil at Raymond James Stadium.
Brady and Rob Gronkowski rolled back the years as the former New England Patriots pair connected for two first-half touchdowns, seeing them surpass Joe Montana and Jerry Rice for the most scores by a duo in playoff history (14) and Super Bowl history (five).
- Buccaneers passing: Tom Brady, 21/29, 201 yards, 3 TDs
- Rushing leader: Leonard Fournette, 16 carries, 89 yards, 1 TD
- Receiving leader: Rob Gronkowski, six catches, 67 yards, 2 TDs
Brady capped a near-perfect half of football with a third scoring strike to Antonio Brown to see the Bucs up 21-6, while Leonard Fournette became the fourth Tampa Bay player not on their roster 12 months ago to find the endzone when he broke free for a 27-yard TD in the third quarter.
Brady, who completed 21 of 29 throws for 201 and three touchdowns, was named Super Bowl MVP for a record-breaking fifth time in his storied career, while Tampa Bay picked up their second Vince Lombardi Trophy having also won to cap the 2002 season.
Kansas City came back from a 21-10 fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the San Francisco 49ers in last year’s Super Bowl but, this time, trailing 31-9 heading into the final period, there was to be no stirring fightback – despite the best, improvised efforts from a banged-up Patrick Mahomes.
- Chiefs passing: Patrick Mahomes, 26/49, 270 yards, 2 INTs
- Rushing leader: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, nine carries, 64 yards
- Receiving leader: Travis Kelce, 10 catches, 133 yards
Mahomes was tormented throughout by a relentless Bucs pass rush which feasted on a makeshift Chiefs offensive line due to injury, while Tampa’s young defensive backs held up their end of the bargain.
Mahomes completed only 53 per cent of his passes – 26 of 49 for 270 yards – throwing two interceptions in the second half as he got increasingly desperate. The loss is Mahomes’ first by two scores in his 54 career starts in the NFL.
Scoring summary
| FIRST QUARTER | |
|---|---|
| Bucs 0-3 Chiefs | Harrison Butker 49-yard field goal |
| Bucs 7-3 Chiefs | Tom Brady eight-yard TD pass to Rob Gronkowski (extra point) |
| SECOND QUARTER | |
| Bucs 14-3 Chiefs | Tom Brady 17-yard TD pass to Rob Gronkowski (extra point) |
| Bucs 14-6 Chiefs | Harrison Butker 34-yard field goal |
| Bucs 21-6 Chiefs | Tom Brady one-yard TD pass to Antonio Brown (extra point) |
| THIRD QUARTER | |
| Bucs 21-9 Chiefs | Harrison Butker 52-yard field goal |
| Bucs 28-9 Chiefs | Leonard Fournette 27-yard TD run (extra point) |
| Bucs 31-9 Chiefs | Ryan Succop 52-yard field goal |
There were bad omens from the very start for Kansas City as they won the toss – ultimately extending the losing streak of those to do so to seven-straight Super Bowls. They were sluggish to start on offense, but so were the Bucs, with the two teams trading in punts on the first three series’, until a Harrison Butker field goal had the Chiefs up by three.
Brady, used to starting Super Bowls slowly, having scored a combined three first-quarter points across his nine previous appearances, finally found the endzone and his old friend Gronk with an eight-yard toss.
Tampa Bay benefitted from a couple of short punts from Tommy Townsend that helped the team add to their advantage. They were first stopped at the goal line when going for it on fourth-and-one but then, with the Chiefs backed up, Brady found Gronk again for a 17-yard score after starting their next drive in KC territory.
The Chiefs managed to add a further field goal to their score with one minute left in the first half, but that was too much time for a suddenly red-hot Tampa team to drive down the field for another touchdown, although they were helped by an increasingly ill-disciplined Kansas City team that were regularly being called for penalties.
The second-half was nothing more than a procession for the Buccaneers, as the Kansas City fightback never materialised, nor the Brady-Mahomes shootout we’d all hoped for.
Mahomes, clearly still troubled by the turf toe injury that had bothered him in the Divisional Round win over the Cleveland Browns – and taking increasingly heavy hits from the defense – tried to improvise some special plays, including one gravity-defying heave early in the four quarter where he was practically mid-air, horizontal to the ground.
Sadly, the throw fell incomplete and Kansas City’s quest to become the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since Brady’s New England Patriots in 2003-04 disappeared with it.
SKYSPORTS
