The Kansas City Chiefs efforts to run it back came to a screeching halt in the Super Bowl as the Buccaneers played a masterful game on both sides of the ball, exploiting the Chiefs’ weaknesses and rolling to a 31-9 win and a second title in franchise history.
To not allow a touchdown to this Chiefs offense is an immense accomplishment, but one that doesn’t happen without a little help. Tampa schemed up a terrific gameplan to attack Kansas City’s shorthanded offensive line and put pressure on Patrick Mahomes all night. However, as Brian Baldinger of NFL Network showed on his latest terrific #BaldyBreakdowns on Twitter, the game may have looked different if the Chiefs’ playmakers had helped Mahomes out and made plays that they so often do.
@Chiefs receivers had many opportunities to make Big Plays. The QB made some amazing throws with heroic effort. All you can ask for are opportunities. I expect them to be knocking on the doorstep in 2021 of another title. @Buccaneers #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/dojybHMsE6
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) February 8, 2021
It’s a really interesting look at some incompletions that were moments of that Mahomes Magic that has become his trademark as he makes plays after the pocket breaks down, they just didn’t get the ending they deserved as receivers had drops in key spots. The three that really stood out were the Hill drop in traffic at the goal line, the Kelce drop on 3rd-and-8 deep in their own end, and, of course, the unbelievable diving throw Mahomes made that hit Darrel Williams in the face. All of them were contested, difficult plays, but in the Super Bowl against an elite defense, those are the plays you have to make — and they’re the plays Kansas City has been making for the last two years. This time, they didn’t just drop a few but seemingly all of the big plays they needed, and coupled with a sensational effort from Tampa, that yielded the lopsided final score.