TAMPA, Fla. — The Kansas City Chiefs fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneer in Super Bowl LV 31-9.
The Super LIV champions struggled in all three phases of the game in the championship game as they tried to complete their “Run It Back” tour.
Dropped passes, turnovers and a shanked punt all contributed to the Chiefs inability to overcome a first half deficit.
“It’s a bad day to have a bad day,” head coach Andy Reid said.
Offense
Last year’s Super Bowl MVP was unable to find any sort of rhythm in the passing game. He spent a majority of the game scrambling behind his offensive line that was missing two starters.
Mahomes saw pressure from an aggressive Buccaneers defense that forced two turnovers and sacked him three times.
“I just don’t think we were on the same page, as a whole offense,” Mahomes said.
He ended with a stat line of 270 yards, 2 interceptions and 64 rushing yards. This was also the first time in his short career that his team has not gotten into the end zone.
According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Mahomes traveled 497 yards before getting rid of the ball or taking a sack. That is the most scramble yards in a game by a quarterback since Next Gen Stats started tracking the statistic in 2016.
“One of those days where it felt like anything we did, they just had an answer for it,” tight end Travis Kelce said.
Kelce was able to post his third consecutive 100 yard game in the postseason, but it wasn’t enough to get points on the board.
Tyreek Hill posted a career day in week 12 against the Buccaneers, but was limited in his performance in the Super Bowl.
“Todd Bowles did his thing tonight, they had a better game plan,” Hill said.
He ended the game with 7 catches for 73 yards, with most of those coming in the second half.
“Obviously, it hurts right now, but we’re going to continue to get better,” Mahomes said. “We can’t let this define us. Going into next year, being even better.”
Defense
On the other side of the ball, the Chiefs defense had no answer for Tom Brady.
The now five-time Super Bowl MVP completed 21 of his 29 passes for 201 yards. He threw all of his three touchdowns in the first half; one to Antonio Brown and two to Rob Gronkowski.
Penalties were an issue for the Chiefs on both sides of the ball and kept drives alive for the Buccaneers.
Kansas City had 11 penalties for 120 yards to Tampa Bay’s four penalties for 39 yards.
“This is the Super Bowl. Usually, you let the guys play,” Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones said. “We had nine penalties for 100 yards, they had two. Penalties can change the game.”
Safety Tyrann Mathieu was able to intercept a ball from Brady, but it was erased by a defensive holding call by Charvarius Ward.
Mathieu was visibly upset as the teams went into the tunnel at half-time and was seen jawing at Brady.
“It’s a win, it’s a fair win,” Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark said. “Tampa Bay won.”
Special Teams
Aside from a couple of good returns from Byron Pringle, the Chiefs struggles continued on special teams.
Punter Tommy Townsend shanked a punt in the second quarter that set the Buccaneers up at the Kansas City 38-yard line.
This came after a 56 yard punt was called back on an offensive holding call. The Buccaneers capitalized and scored a touchdown on their drive.
