Super Bowl 55 was one of the most hyped championship games we have seen in quite some time, and for pretty good reason. After all, we had the GOAT going against the young QB who might one day assume the mantle of greatest ever to play to the position. It was an intriguing matchup to be sure, not to mention one that the bookies had as being tight, with the Kansas City Chiefs starting as a 3-point favorite against Brady and the Buccaneers. The game proved to be anything but close, though, with Tampa Bay controlling things from the start on their way to a 31-9 win. The biggest question being asked this morning among NFL fans is about what went wrong with the Chiefs. Let’s try to answer that question so you can start planning your bets against their NFL odds for the upcoming season.
Super Bowl Hangover: What went wrong with the Kansas City Chiefs?
A Lack of Discipline
When you give up 11 penalties and 120 yards over the course of a game, you expect to be on the losing side at the end. That is exactly what happened to the Chiefs against a Bucs team that only gave up 4 penalties all night. The fact that 6 of the Chiefs penalties resulted in a first down for Tampa only made matters worse. There were some, including the experts on TV, who saw the penalty calls in the first half, where the Chiefs had 8 versus 1 for the Bucs, as a little unfair, but the reality is that the vast majority looked like legit calls.
A Poor Showing from the Offensive Line
Patrick Mahomes spent much of the night running for his life and trying to make something happen, which is not ideal for a QB dealing with an injured toe that will require surgery this offseason. The official stats show that Mahomes was sacked 3 times, but it seemed as though he was on the run every single time to get the ball in his hands, sometimes being forced 20-30 yard behind the line of scrimmage before finally getting off passes that somehow almost turned into big plays. That he only threw a pair of picks while under pressure and on the run is actually quite impressive.
Little to No Pressure from the Defensive Line
While Mahomes was scampering all over the field, Tom Brady was all too often allowed to stand in the pocket untouched. You cannot give a QB of his caliber that much time and not expect to lose. The Chiefs D was only able to get to Brady once for a sack, although with the Bucs run game working, it was tough for them to all out blitz that regularly. Still, it was a far cry from what we saw out of this defense all season long.
This game was as lopsided as the score suggests, as the Chiefs never really looked as though they would ever cause the Bucs D any real problems. They were unable to make any serious adjustments at half-time, which has to go on the coaching staff, and they simply didn’t make enough big plays to get the job done.
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