The battle of old school versus new school will capture the entire sports world on Sunday as reigning Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Chiefs will attempt to earn back-to-back championships, having defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in last year’s Super Bowl.
Though the Super Bowl will be played in Tampa – the first time in history that a team will claim a home-field advantage in NFL history – the Chiefs cannot be written off this time around.
Kansas City have only improved since Super Bowl LIV, as they finished 14-2 in the regular season. This included a 27-24 win over Tampa in week 12 on their way to earning the first seed before besting the Cleveland Browns and the Buffalo Bills en route to a second consecutive Super Bowl appearance.
But it will not be made easy for the Chiefs as they face NFC champions the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who will make their first Super Bowl appearance since 2002 – a year after their current quarterback Tom Brady won his first championship with the New England Patriots, aged 24.
The upcoming game will be Brady’s 10th Super Bowl appearance, having won six out of nine already in his 21-year career. To put that into perspective, that is two more appearances than the Pittsburgh Steelers, the most decorated franchise in the NFL (tied with New England on six titles), have made in their history.
In 2019, Brady became the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl. Two years on, aged 43, and Brady returns to extend this record – as well as to keep his record of the most Super Bowl wins well out of reach, to stand long into his somewhat overdue retirement.
With this in mind, his adversary Patrick Mahomes III is perhaps most fitting for Brady to defeat if he is to achieve a seventh Super Bowl. That would put him three ahead of any other quarterback and ensure a prolonged stay in the history books.
At just 25-years-old, Mahomes will make his second Super Bowl appearance. In the last off-season the 2018 league MVP committed his long-term future with the franchise signing a deal through until 2031. Such commitment on both sides shows the bright future they both envisage with Mahomes tipped to lead them into a dynasty and enter the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time) quarterback conversation with Brady.
With Brady keen to protect his legacy from the career of Mahomes, this game is expected to be a shootout from start to finish.
On their way to the Super Bowl the Buccaneers had an 11-5 record, finishing second to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC South. However, they defeated their rivals from Louisiana in the divisional round, before upsetting the first seed Green Bay Packers last week in the NFC Championship.
For the team out of the AFC, aside from Mahomes the players to watch include wide receiver Tyreek Hill and tight-end Travis Kelce. Hill finished second in receiving touchdowns in the regular season, while Kelce placed second in receiving yards.
As for the Bucs, players who should not be overlooked in the presence of Brady include receiver Mike Evans, who leads the franchise in all main receiving stats. Defensively, Devin White – Tampa’s second year linebacker who leads the team in both sacks and tackles – will seek to disrupt Mahomes in the pass game.
With talent on both sides of the football, and their seasons on the line, this will be a game which cannot be missed – a piece of NFL History.
The game will kick-off at 23:30 GMT (18:30 ET/ local), on Sunday February 7th, and will be aired on BBC One.
